The Marvelous Adventure of Superman
by AliusNeo
Summary: Lex Luthor has declared War on The Man of Steel, and Superman is out for blood. But a freak accident sends them both to an unfamiliar world. Meanwhile the Avengers are having trouble Assembling, but unexpected visitors change that very quickly.
1. Odyssey

((This is a cross-over story where Superman and Lex Luthor end up in the Marvel Comic Book Universe. All characters shown are owned by their respective companies. This story is based in a Marvel Universe; and DC Universe, which are both non-cannon to comics or other mediums. You will see familiar characters with new takes on them; old stories which had different consequences; and the never ending battle between good and evil.))

((This is the second draft of this story; which has been edited so that it flows better, in a format that is easier to distinguish from who is speaking. I Have also altered some content; mostly certain dialogue parts which I thought didn't work. Hope anyone re-reading enjoys the revisions. And any new readers enjoy the story I've thought up. Please enjoy; and review if you like and want to see more :). Happy Trails! ))

_"Life is a storm, my young friend. You will bask in the sunlight one moment, be shattered on the rocks the next. What makes you a man is what you do when that storm comes."_  
— **Alexandre Dumas**

Lex Luthor rushed through his lab, his battle suit damaged from his confrontation with the Kryptonians; had he not bested Supergirl when he did she might have put him down for good. Lex ran in a panicked haste as he looked down at his smashed glove, the shattered pieces of kryptonite still embedded in his gauntlet...his only protection from those Aliens. Those freaks who claim to be their protectors.

Lex pressed in his personal access code and activated his personal project; "Refuge". He had yet to test his device, but if it worked it would send him to the parallel Earth he had encountered where "Superman" was Ultraman...as Lex recalled it, scientific advancement in that reality far surpassed that in his own world. He knew that Ultraman would love nothing more than to help with the demise of his counterpart.

A small compartment along the wall opened to reveal Lexes Inter-dimensional Rift Generator. It was a small square device that almost resembled a box; Lex had used remains of a Mother-Box recovered from Darkseids invasion attempt years prior.

As Lex reached out and picked up the Box there was a loud crash, and the sound of metal bending. Lex was almost thrown off his feet by the shock-wave of the blast. As Lex looked up he could barely see him through the smoke caused by mixing chemicals on the floor; but he could see the blue of his chest, and that Symbol that had come to haunt his life... Kara's blood smeared along it.

Lex heard his voice boom, angrier than he had ever heard him before. "Madman!" In a moment his fingers were around Lexes throat. Lex could see the tears in his eyes as his face began to contort with the pain caused by the kryptonite...but it didn't hurt him like it used to. Clark stood his ground, his fingers digging into Lex's throat. "You deserve to die for what you've done...to Metropolis; to Kara! How many more people are you going to leave dead in your wake?!" Lex could feel the grip around his throat loosen as the kryptonite began to take a more direct effect on Clark.

Lex threw up a powerful armored fist that crashed against the head of the Man of Steel. Clark stumbled back as Lex pointed his undamaged hand and fired a repulsor beam directly into Superman's chest, sending him flying backwards into a cabinet, which crumbled like paper. Lex quickly turned his attention to his box, pressing several buttons.

As Lexes box began to activate, emitting a strange yellow glow, Clark got up to his knees; throwing the remains of the cabinet off of him "No! No one else dies because of you!" A high intensity heat-vision blast exploded from Clarks eyes and charged towards Lex, who put the box between himself and Superman's attack. As the blast hit the box, the yellow light mixed with Superman's heat-vision, turning the bright yellow light a bright swirl of orange. The orange light stretched out and touched every corner of the lab, and with one violent snap the whole lab was sucked into the center of the light. As the light dissipated back into the box; it fell to ground of the ruined floor, a single green light flashing on its panel as water streamed out of the now exposed water main.

...

Avengers Mansion was strangely empty; Tony Stark worked away on his new space-ready flight suit. He was still having trouble finding a suitable metal to withstand re-entry; but thankfully Thor, who had recently returned from Asgard, had brought some metals with him that, fused with the right combination of Earth metals, would provide a suitable coating for his suit.

Thor was in the waiting room watching a news report about Reed Richards and his latest development in bio-chemistry, utilizing the Super Soldier serum to create a cure for many of the known cancers that plagued mankind. His serum was still under research, but Richards was hopeful about the results.

"This just in," the news report cut out to a special news bulletin. "Several miles above the small area of Tyrolese City there was what appeared to be a small sonic explosion. A man who was celebrating his daughters' birthday caught a glimpse of the strange occurrence."

The screen cut away to show the video of a small girl opening a present to reveal a bright pink pair of sneakers. The girls' eyes began to shine with happiness when someone shouted out "There! Up in the sky!" The camera swung around quickly, catching a glimpse of what appeared to be a large off shaped rectangular object seemingly appearing in the sky with a wave of orange light. Then an instant later the object seemed to break into several thousand pieces and explode apart.

"Thankfully there were no reported injuries as a result of the occurrence, but officials are baffled by the video, as no explanation has yet to be given."

Thor had risen from his place on the chair he sat in, "What in the name of Valhalla?" Thor wasn't sure what he had seen; but something had been missed in the report; something important.

Thor came bursting down into Starks lab. "Hail Lord Stark!" Tony sighed heavily as Thor's voice boomed through his lab.

"I've told you a thousand times, my name is Tony. Not Lord Stark, not The Iron Clad Magician; Tony, just **Tony**."

"You waste our time with this nonsense; there is a captured image series you must observe." Another sigh escaped Tony as he rubbed his mustache against his face.

"It's called...never mind." Tony turned to his computer and ALT-TABed his program and brought up the internet browser; which Tony had forgotten was on a search engine looking for pictures of himself with Eva Longoria. Thor gave a long disapproving glance at Tony. "What? I was out late on Friday and I heard that the lovely Eva Longoria was involved." Thor shook his head, disregarding what Tony said.

"Quest for the...'video' of the strange explosion of Tyrolese City." With almost lightening fast hands Tony began to type into the search engine. Within seconds he had found a link to the video and pulled it up. Tony watched the video with Thor, who was watching intently, searching for something he had missed...

"Wow that is weird..." Tony said as the video ended. "What do you think it could have been? Alien space craft? Military experiment gone wrong? Could just be the mutants acting up again..." As Tony searched his brain for a logical conclusion to the event, Thor reached out and grabbed the mouse, pulling the time index of the video back to the time where the object seemed to blow apart, Thor watched it several time before pausing on a select frame.

"Hark! Do you see Lord Stark?!" Thor pointed a large finger towards the computer screen.

"Don't touch the screen! Grease is bad! I can't stand John Travolta!" Tony said as he pulled out some Windex and began to scrub at his computer screen.

"Divert yourself from this ignorant twittle! Look!" Tony looked up to Thor, almost insulted.

"...Twittle? Is that even a word?" Tony then felt a strong hand grip the top of his head and turned it until he was facing the computer screen, and there Tony saw them.

"What the hell are those?" There in the debris was what looked like two separate streaks going off in two different directions, one was a green streak, and the other a bright red one.

"Darest we find out? Gather your wits Lord Stark, there may be danger about in Tyrolese City!" Thor lifted Mjonlir into the air, "Avengers, Assemble!" Thor shouted at the top of his lounges, his magic hammer making his voice echo throughout the whole mansion.

Tony grabbed hold of Thors shoulder and swung him around. "What have I told you about using your magic voice echo thing in the mansion? If there are any more broken windows I'm taking your hammer away." Thors face suddenly turned crimson red.

"Should you lay a finger on Mjonlir you would be dead before you reached the floor, cur!"

"Hey!" Tony interjected quickly, "I looked that word up, don't call me that anymore..." Thors eyes and his anger never wavered, and Tony knew when to back down from a God with anger management issues. Tony took several steps back with his hands up in defeat, a look of defeat on his face.

"Okay, fine! I'll get my tin can on..." Tony said in haste as he made his way to the platform, and with the push of several buttons on the projected heads-up display, the mechanical goliath began its procedure to encase Tony Stark in his IronMan casing. Within seconds he was adorned in his shining gold and red armor, his blue chest piece shining brightly. His eyes turned a bright blue to indicate that his visuals were up and running. "I'm good to go." The mechanically distorted voice of IronMan said as he returned to the room to see Thor and HawkEye standing there in their outfits, Thor with his winged Helmet and red cape, and HawkEye with his purple mask and bow.

"Aww, look at that Thor, only one extra member..." IronMan said in a mock sadness.

"T'wil take but the three of us to undertake this challenge."Thor said with great bravado. IronMan turned to HawkEye.

"I'm taking a break after this mission. I'm bound to kill myself if I endure too much more of this." IronMans boots ignited and he took off into the sky through a door that opened up in the roof of the mansion.

"Grab hold my friend!" Thor said as he offered his hand to HawkEye. HawkEye took Thors hand as Thor swung Hawkeye around his back and took off through the roof as the door shut closed behind him.

...

Superman shifted in the rock and debris that covered him. He pushed up on the plate of led that Lex had reinforced his walls with to keep him from seeing in; he took a deep breath as he pushed the plate off of him. Clark felt the rays of the sun hit him and instantly begin to recharge him. Yet something felt different.

Clark rose to his feet and looked around to see the lush green field that lay before him. He wondered where he was, and how he had gotten there. Suddenly he could hear the familiar sound of a personal jet propulsion system. Using his telescopic vision he scanned the sky until he saw the bright gold and crimson red armor plated being soaring through the air. Only one person knew how to make armor like that...

Clark took off into the sky, and in moments he collided into the armored man and took him down into the ground, crashing into the green plain. "Gah, what the hell are you doing?" IronMan said as he struggled in Supermans grasp.

"Where's Luthor?" Superman shouted, anger taking hold of him as he remembered the sight of Kara, her face so bloody and bruised that he couldn't recognize her facial features...

"Luthor? You mean Martin Luther King?" Superman slammed IronMan into the ground with such force that Tony Stark later made the comparison to being a live sardine shaken around in a can.

"Don't play games with me! Where is he?" Superman said with ferocity in his voice as he was suddenly struck from the back by a well placed lightening bolt, being tossed several feet from IronMan.

"Keep thy filthy paws off of the companion of The Almighty Thor, mongrel!" Thor shouted as he clasped Mjonlir in his hand; IronMan rose to his feet as HawkEye ran up with his bow drawn, taking point beside IronMan.

Superman rose from the ground, anger swirling in him. More of Luthors Meta-humans? It didn't matter; they were going to tell him where Lex was. Superman took off from his spot, and as he did Thor swung his hammer around in his hand. "Feel the might of Mjonlir!" Thor shouted as another lightening bolt exploded from his hammer, colliding with Superman and sending him flying into a nearby rock face, embedding him into it.

Thor fell to his knees and used his hammer to keep himself up. He had put a lot of energy into that attack since the first one seemed to have no effect. Thor collected himself and rose to his feet and went to investigate his opponent, he found the blue and red clad assailant unconscious in the rubble.

"Where do you think he came from?" IronMan said as he and HawkEye came up beside Thor.

"I am unsure. I do believe It may be responsible for the explosion... We must make haste back to the Keep before this curr regains his senses." Thor quickly scooped up Superman and took off into the sky.

"Huh, and he just left you here to walk back." IronMan said as he turned to HawkEye, who had a disbelieving look on his face.

"You wouldn't..." Though HawkEye couldn't see his face, he could feel the grin that must have been forming across Tony's face.

"Wouldn't I?" IronMans jets kicked in and in a moment he was taking off into the sky, waving back to HawkEye as he went.

As HawkEye watched IronMan fly off into the distance, he pulled out a cell phone from his pocket and pressed number two on his speed dial. He waited through two rings before the phone was answered. "Hey Natasha, can you give me a lift? Awesome. I'm just outside Tyrolese City. Oh yah? That's convenient, see you in a few." HawkEye put his cell phone away and then took out a pack of gum and began wait for the Russian SHIELD agent to pick him up.

((They found Superman; but where is Lex? Is he free to run about the Marvel Universe? If so, who would he possibly team up with? Will HawkEye get back to the Mansion? Who will Thor call a 'curr' next? Find out by pressing the button for the next chapter!))


	2. Awakening

Superman lay on a table in the Avengers Holding Cells. There was a barrier erected around him to keep him contained. Through a looking glass Tony Stark, Thor and Reed Richards examined the strange visitor.

"So...any ideas?" Tony said as he looked back from Thor to Reed.

"He could have come out of some sort of space vortex. We've seen other Alien races utilize that form of travel." Reed said as he turned around and began to walk towards the computer monitor.

"No, I don't think so. He spoke English, said something about 'Luthor'...and then he rattled me around like a live sardine stuck in a can." Thor turned and began following Reed.

"Lord Starks speaks true. I do not recognize the symbol on his chest; and I have never heard of a race with such strength as he possesses. Even Mjonlir had trouble subduing the miscreant."

There was a loud ding that came from the computer as Reed approached it. "The analysis is done..." Reed said as Tony joined both him and Thor at the computer. Tony looked over Reeds shoulder to get a glimpse of a DNA sequence that made Reeds DNA look normal. "Well he's defiantly not human." Reed said as Tony laughed out loud.

"Ha, duh!" Tony said to Reed as he crossed his arms and began to laugh to himself. Reed cleared his throat.

"I'll cross reference it to the Avengers Database." Reed began to work away at the Computer as Tony and Thor turned back to observe their captive.

"Why do you think he attacked me?" Tony said as he watched Superman.

"I am unsure of the curs intentions; but rest easy companion, Mjonlir will get the truth out of him yet." Thor said as he grinned at Tony, who returned an uneasy smile. Tony didn't like the idea of letting Thor interrogate the prisoners after what happened to Boomerang...the poor guy still walks with a limp.

"Uh, Thor...I think you should see this." Reed called from the computer. Thor and Tony turned and both began to walk towards Reed. As Thor looked over Reeds shoulder, he was shocked to see that the visitors DNA had several sequences that were almost identical to that of the Asgardians.

"What is this devilry?" Thor said in a low tone, almost disbelieving what he was seeing.

"It's not identical...no where close. But there are enough similarities that the computer was able to pick it up. I thought it was a glitch at first, but I even compared them myself..."

"So what, this guy is some distant relative of Goldie Locks?" Tony said as he poked between Reed and the computer.

"It's definitely a possibility, but it only raises more questions than it answers." Reed said as he stretched around Tony and extended his hand to put a small wall between himself and Tony, blocking Stark off from the computer.

"Pardon me Mr. Fantastic, but maybe if you continue the search you'll find something else. Maybe this guy is some kind of hybrid. Different Alien DNA fused to make some super being." Tony said with annoyance as he eyed Reed down with an irritated stare.

Reed returned his hand to normal size and stepped out of Tony's way, allowing him to examine the computer. "Well whatever this guy is I think it's safe to say we're going to need some more firepower in case he wakes up and decides to continue working Tony over." As Reed spoke Thor looked over at Tony and smiled, wondering how anyone could resist the urge. "I'm going to call Sue and the others. Thor, would you please call Captain America and Strange; they need to be informed of the situation"

...

After they had made their calls, they returned to the lab and the sound of loud thuds. As they looked around they could see Tony hiding underneath a desk, his feet poking out and shaking. Thor reached down and with a strong hand pulled Tony from his hiding spot. "No! He's trying to get out!" Thor let go of Tony's leg and swung around to the sight of Superman punching into the force field that surrounded him, trying desperately to escape.

"Fear not. That is an Asgardian encasement sphere. He shant escape it in this lifetime. Not with such gentle pounding." Thor said as he looked over to Superman, who stopped punching as Thor finished speaking.

There he stood, staring at the three of them. "Uh, do you think he heard you?" Tony said to Thor as they watched him. The stranger began to nod his head. "Oh god, he can hear us. I mean...you think he can see us?" The three of them stood, unmoving as they watched Superman trapped in his bubble, baffled that he was able to hear through the soundproof room. There was definitely something extraordinary about this person.

Reed walked forward and pressed a button on the intercom. "Now we'll be able to hear you." Reed said as he returned to his spot beside Thor.

"So...who are you people and where are you keeping me?" Superman spoke with a loud and demanding voice.

"We'll be asking the questions here pal. Who are you and where did you come from?" Superman looked from one to the other, noting that only the talkative one seemed to have a heightened heart rate.

"My name is Kal-El, of the Planet Krypton. Though to the people of Earth I'm known as Superman." Reed and Tony looked to each other as Thor gave Superman a perplexed look.

"Uh, seeing how there are two people of Earth here, and one of their resident ex-Gods, and none of us have ever heard of you, or your 'Krypton'; which by the way is an element on our periodic table, which you would know if you had done your homework on Earth...so nice try pal, but lets try again. Who are you, and where did you come from."

The perplexed look on Thors face seemed to transfer to Superman's. "What do you mean? Haven't you ever been to Metropolis? The Daily Planet? What about Lois Lane? You've heard of her haven't you?" As Superman spouted names Tony and Reed exchanged confused looks.

"Sorry bud, can't say I have. And there's no place on Earth called Metropolis. Again, you should have checked your facts."

Suddenly the confusion on Supermans face was washed away by a look of absolute terror. If they were telling the truth, and he was on Earth, then where was Lois? "Let me out of here." Superman said in a panicked voice. "I need to get out of here."

Tony laughed to himself a little before responding. "Yeah, right. That's not happening. Until we find out exactly what you're up to, you can stay right where you are." Tony reached forward and pressed the intercom button so that he could no longer hear Superman plea for freedom.

"What do you think Reed?" Tony said as he and Reed Richards turned away from Superman as he began to pound feverishly against the force field, Thor watching him exert his strength.

"I don't know...I really don't. He doesn't seem to be lying, and he seems very upset about something." Reed said as he turned back to watch Superman punch away.

"He's just upset because he doesn't have a way out of there." Tony said as he approached the viewing window and watched Superman with a mocking smile. "Too bad you won't tell us the truth. If only you had a small thermo-nuclear reactor to alter the modulation of the energy flux...that's the downside to wearing a cape. Doesn't look like you can fit much in there." Tony said with a laugh as he turned to Thor. "Not that there's anything wrong with a cape...you pull it off much nicer than he does." Tony said before Thor gave him annoyed look, making Tony swing his head back to face Superman to avoid eye contact with Thor. That is when Tony noticed that Superman was smiling. "Uh...Why is he smiling?" Tony said as he watched Superman's eyes begin to shine with a bright red glow. "What's he doing?" Tony said as he uncrossed his arms; Thor and Reed also became very aware of what their captive was doing. Suddenly a light intensity heat blast shot from Superman's eyes and collided with the Force field not two feet from his face. The three Avengers watched in horror as the Asgardian energy field began to absorb the heat energy that was being poured into it. Soon the clear energy field began to turn into a swirling yellow ball of solar energy. "Oh crap." Were the only words heard before the force field overloaded, sending out a shock-wave that knocked the Avengers onto their backs, and shattering most of the windows in the lab. Tony shuffled around on the ground, his heart beating a mile a minute. He could feel the energy stabilizers in his core beginning to overload. Whatever happened in the explosion had reset his pulse stability interface. He could feel the pulse in his head beat faster and harder with every moment that his core was not working properly...his heart was failing.

Tony turned on the ground and looked to Thor, but he was unconscious on the floor beside him, a small stream of blood steadily oozing out of his head. Thor had hit his head off of the titanium lab table, which was badly dented... Thor couldn't help Tony now.

"Reed!" Tony gasped as he clutched at his heart; every breath a struggle for him. "Reed! My heart..." Tony said as he looked over to see Reeds feet leading behind the same lab table Thor had hit his head off of. His feet were not moving and Tony wouldn't be able to move closer to him.

Suddenly Superman appeared, standing above Tony. Tony's heart began to race even faster with fear, which caused him even more pain. Tony could feel his chest tighten; the intense pressure making it impossible for him to breathe, he needed someone to help him. He reached up to Superman, then saying in a broken gasp "Cartridge...in the cab...net. In my...heart." Tony couldn't get the words out, and the he couldn't see Superman's face which was hidden by a light that cast a shadow over Tony.

Tony closed his eyes as the pain began to take over; he heard what he could only describe as a 'whoosh' and before he knew it he could feel warm hands clasping at his heart-piece. Within seconds the cartridge in Tony's chest had been replaced and the pain began to subside, but as it did Tony let himself drift off into a well earned rest.

Superman stood above Tony who slept with a smile on his face. He looked over to the other two and quickly scanned them to make sure they weren't seriously harmed. Superman was surprised to see that that large blonde mans head wound was beginning to heal itself at a rapid rate. As interesting as he had found his captors, he had to get back to Metropolis. These people couldn't have been telling the truth. Once he spoke with Lois and made sure she was alright he could go find Kara, and make sure that she got the treatment she needs.

…..

Tony shifted in a bed in the medical wing of the Avengers Mansion. He felt a moist cloth being dabbed on his forehead. Tony reached up and slowly took hold of the hand that held the cloth. As he opened his eyes he saw the bright blonde hair and stunning blue eyes of Sue Storm Richards. Tony smiled, "Sue...I told you I'd wake up next to you one of these days. Don't worry, I won't tell Reed." Sue rose from her seat next to Tony and threw the cloth gently in his face. She then turned and made her way to the intercom.

"Reed, Tony's up." Sue said through the communicator. Reed quickly responded.

"How is he?" Sue looked back to Tony as he pulled the cloth from his face to reveal a devilish grin before he winked at her.

"He's fine. I'm coming up to the Lab." Sue released the intercom button and turned back to Tony. "Get dressed quick. Everyone is here." Sue said before she walked out the door.

It didn't take Tony long to get on a pair of track pants and a t-shirt and make his way down to the assembly area. As Tony walked through the door he saw the dark purple quiver of HawkEye. "Bird-brain! You got back quickly...how?" HawkEye turned to Tony, his mask off with a grin on his face.

"Natasha gave me a lift." He said as he watched Tony's face become increasingly agitated. "She happened to be on the scene investigating the same thing we saw." Tony lost all of his agitation and became more interested in hearing what Clint had to say.

"Really? What did 'SHIELD' find?" Tony said in a mocking rendition of General Fury.

"Ahem." Tony froze in his place from the noise that came from behind him.

"Oh...you're not behind me are you?" Tony said in a frightened whisper.

"No, but he might as well be." Responded the light Russian accent of Natasha Romanov.

"Natasha...wonderful to see you." Tony said as he turned around with his arms wide open, ready to embrace the SHIELD agent in a tight hug; only to turn into the barrel of a .22 Magnum revolver. "Oh...you got a new gun? Nice." Tony said as he stared into Natashas eye's, taking no notice of the guns details.

Natasha holstered the gun and turned back to Tony. "So...what did you find out there?" Tony said as he looked into Natasha's bright blue eyes.

"They found me." The voice was low, he spoke with an air that made him seem larger than everyone else in the room. When Tony turned around he saw the bright, emerald green battle armor and a sleek bald head. Tony began to examine the armor he wore, it resembled his own armor in many ways, but was too clunky, and had obviously seen it's fair share of battles. Tony's eyes then fell over the giant painted on 'L' that had been chipped away at the center of his suit.

"Let me guess. You're Luthor?" His bright green eyes narrowed as he examined Tony Stark.

"Lex Luthor. And I'm going to help you bring down the greatest threat your world has ever known. Shall I brief him on the situation Ms. Romanov?" Natasha nodded her head to Lex, who took a step closer to Tony and began to weave a web of deceit that would help him to destroy Clark Kent once and for all.

((Not going to lie to you folks. Superman could have reacted better than he did; but who likes being cages? Especially with Tony being the kind of jerk that he is. Could his decision to flee from the Avengers put them into a state where Luthor could take advantage? Who would have guessed SHIELD would be the people he teamed up with? Want to see what happens next? You know which button to click))


	3. Truth

Lex approached the round table in the center of the room. Tony stood near the chair closest to the door. Thor sat in a chair next to Reed and Black Widow. HawkEye stood on the other end of the table closer to Lex as he began to speak.

"The being you encountered...his name is Kal-El." Lex began, "Though he also has another moniker...Superman." As Lex said his name everyone in the room could feel the contempt and disdain in his voice. "But don't let his looks or the name fool you. He is anything but a man." Lex said, trying his best to hold back his anger.

"He was born on a distant planet from Earth called Krypton. The only reason he was sent to my planet...to my Earth." Lex looked over to Tony, who seemed to be the only one in the room who was shocked by the string of words Lex had chosen. "Was because his people destroyed themselves. They were a people who were constantly at war with themselves, and because of their ways their planet became unstable. One of the Factions leaders who had brains enough found a way to send his infant son off of the planet before its destruction. I am unaware if the man knew of the planets impending doom, but I know that he was sent here to weaken my people for the inevitable takeover of his own kind."

"Wait a minute." Tony cut in. "Back up. So you're saying that you're from some kind of alternate version of Earth?" Lex almost cut through Tony with his bright green eyes; yet Tony seemed unhinged by Lexes gaze. Tony held himself with a strength that Lex could recognize, Lex smiled towards him.

"Precisely." Lex said with a sense of normality to the situation that made Tony's eye brow twitch. Tony looked to Thor, and then to Black Widow.

"You two buy this?" Black Widow brushed her short red hair away from her face.

"We have reason to believe he is telling the truth. The explosion in Tyrolese city; we found several radioactive isotopes in the air, that; upon examining were found to be resonating a high concentration of tachyon particles. We've checked every known database we have access to, even the Asgardians have given us access to certain files and we can't find a single thing on the known periodic table that could substitute this isotope."

"That's because the isotope is a fragment of the Aliens home planet. I used pieces of it in my Inter-dimensional Rift Generator as a back-up power source." Tony and Reed Richards both looked to Lex, both baffled and in disbelief.

"You built an inter-dimensional rift generator? How did you even know it would work?" Reed asked with wonder as a wide grin came over Lexes face.

"Several years ago I encountered an alternate version of my deceased father. He told me stories of a version of his Kal-El where he had done exactly what I feared he would. I have known for some time about alternate realities, but when I activated my device I intended on going to a reality I was familiar with. My arrival here was an unfortunate accident caused by 'Superman'. He is dangerous; and if he gets back to my world it will mean the end of humanity as I know it."

"How do you know all of this about him?" Tony said as he crossed his arms and leaned against a nearby wall. "If he is as powerful as you say he is; how did you get to know so much about him?" There was a long silence as Lexes head lowered, his eyes drifting aimlessly across the floor.

"We were friends once. When we were young. I knew him before he found out who he really was; before he became the monster he is today. When I learned what he was capable of I started learning everything I could about him in case he ever had to be stopped; and when that day came I was terribly unprepared for the influence he would have on the people I was trying to protect. He convinced them he was their Hero through a few public displays of his power...I tried my best to show him for his true colours, but he made several like-minded companions on my world who have nothing but contempt for Mankind... And with them he was able to slip through the cracks. Since then I've done my best to curb his progress...but he grows stronger everyday he is under the rays of a yellow sun, and my efforts seem to be growing more and more futile. One of his only known weaknesses is the radioactive isotope you discovered, but it has become less effective as of late."

"Wait! So let me get this straight." Tony cut in, taking a seat in his chair. "This guy is some sort of Super-powered Alien from a destroyed planet in an alternate universe. He gets stronger the longer he's exposed to a yellow sun; and one of the only known weapons you have against him is growing less effective?" Reed Richards cut in before Lex could answer Tony's question.

"Why is he weak to this isotope? Does it have a name?" Lex turned to face Richards.

"On my Earth we call it Kryptonite. I'm not entirely sure why it weakens him; but I have my theories, none of which are relevant to our current task." Tony and Thor exchanged confused looks.

"And what exactly is 'our' task?" Tony asked with a tone that Lex did not care for.

"If he is allowed to go through this world like he did mine you'll soon find a Civil War on your hands. Before I was brought here he had turned the whole world against me, took away everything I loved. He causes dissent and mistrust everywhere he goes. We have to stop him now... I lost the fight in my world, but here we can stop him if we work together."

There was a long silence as Lex observed the 'Avengers' as they contemplated his proposition. He knew they would be afraid of a direct confrontation with such a powerful foe, but this was Lexes chance to finally take down that Alien scum; they had to help him.

"I've already received word from General Fury," Black Widow began, "he has given us the green light on this operation. You will have the full support of SHIELD." If any of the people present could see the true face of Lex Luthor, they would have seen a sinister sneer of triumph; but instead Lex put on a look of relief.

"Thank you Black Widow. Your support will help turn the tide, but I fear it won't be enough." Lex then turned to Tony, Thor and Reed, who all sat at one end of the table. "Will I be able to count on the support of your Avengers?" Before Reed could answer, Tony stood up and spoke in a tone that his team mates rarely heard.

"We're going to have to talk about that. You're welcome to use our lab to fix your armor if you want. It doesn't look that different in design to my own; you should find all the parts you need." Lex nodded his head with a slight smile on his face.

"My thanks. Ms. Romanov, could you please show me to the Lab?" Natasha walked by Luthor, with HawkEye following close behind, and made their way to the door.

"Don't take too long boys. General Fury wants us to move out as soon as Torch and Captain America check in." Natasha called back as Lex followed her out of the war room.

Tony turned to Reed, a look of confusion evident on his face. "What are you thinking Tony?" Tony looked up to Reed, then over to Thor, who was also deep in thought. '

"I'm not sure what to make of all of this. Part of me believes Luthor, seeing how that Superman just attacked me out of nowhere...but then why did he save me?"

"What?" Thor and Reed said at the same time. Tony looked over to his team-mates, remembering that he had not recounted what had happened after the explosion. When Tony had finished telling them the tale Thor seemed to be outraged, and Reed was even more confused than before.

"It is as the Luthor said. This creature revels in sewing dissent; he is obviously trying to fill your mind with doubt for the coming battle." Thor said as he placed a hand on Tony's shoulder.

"I don't think so Thor." Reed cut in. "He didn't seem to have any interest in who we are. If he wanted to use us it would be preferable that he learns all he can."

"Well if he were innocent then why flee?" Thor cut in, with an air of arrogance as if his point were the final one of the conversation.

"I don't know; I'm still trying to wrap my mind around the idea of an alternate reality" A light snicker escaped Tony. "Well deal with it Reed. We've seen weirder things than alternate versions of reality."

Thor seemed to stare off vacantly into nothing. "To think; they come from an entire universe that is different to ours...I wonder exactly how the two differ."Thor said to himself as Tony turned to the door.

"We will have time to think about it later Goldie Locks. I want to get down to the lab and check on Luthor."

"Wait, so we've come to a decision?" Reed said as he rose from his seat to follow Tony.

"We'll co-operate for now. Let's see how this plays out." A slight smile perched over Reeds face.

"Okay. While we're in the lab maybe I can help Bruce with his gamma suppressant." A look of terror came over Tony's face.

"What? The jolly green giant is working down in MY lab? Unsupervised?" Without another word Tony dashed from his spot and down the hallway, running as fast as he could towards his lab.

Reed turned to Thor. "I wish he wouldn't over-react so much about Bruce. We only have to worry if he gets aggravated or excited...and Tony has 'that' effect on people." Thor let out a light laugh.

"Let us follow, I wish to speak with the Luthor about his armor." Reed nodded his head in agreement as Thor began to walk out the door, Reed following closely behind him.

"I know what you mean. I'm surprised Tony didn't take more of interest in him."

...

Superman was floating high above the Earth, a look of confusion and horror spread across his face. There was the Earth as he had never seen it before; the entire East American Coast Line was different. There were landmasses missing, or out of place, or things there that shouldn't be. One thing was certain...this wasn't his home.

Clark wondered exactly where he was; how he had managed to get himself stuck in this mess. A tear streamed down his cheek as his mind wandered back to the terror Lex had wrought before this had all happened. He could remember the sounds of screaming as he awoke from sleep; Lois couldn't hear it, but it wasn't long until Clark could hear the explosion that rocked downtown Metropolis. By the time he had got there it was too late to stop the series of explosives that had been planted along the bay.

Thousands were dead in seconds; and Superman was helpless to do anything about it. In his grief it didn't take long for Clark to track the radio frequency that had detonated the bombs... Winslow Schott, AKA 'The Toyman'. He had been the one to push the button, but Clark knew that he wasn't the one behind it. Schott had been released from Arkham on a day pass and had never returned; and papers found within Schotts hideout proved that he had been funded with money from a lawyer on the Cadmus payroll... Luthors Payroll.

Hours later Superman had got Batman to track Luthor's movements to an abandoned STAR Labs facility. Superman and Supergirl arrived at Luthor's secret hideout with the police; they had found messages in Schott's house that implicated Luthor directly in the bombing. But Luthor wasn't going to let them just take him away. He burst out of the door with his Emerald battle-suit adorned over his body and a large pulse rifle in his hands. Lex smiled before he shot a beam of red-solar energy directly into Superman's chest. In seconds there was a thick layer of smoke covering the field from a colliding blast from Luthors repulsor and Supergirl's eye blast as she rushed to her cousins aid.

Superman could feel the mix of mild red-sun radiation and Kryptonite from Lexes power-suit taking effect, slowing his reflexes as Lex pounced on top of him. Clark could feel fist after fist collide with his face. Clark reached up and was able to grab hold of one of Lexes hands, he used all of his strength to crush the gauntlet. A cry of pain escaped Lex before Supergirl came barreling into him, forcing him off Superman and into the smoke.

Clark tried to regain his focus. He could feel his head shaking, he could hear the sounds of Kara and Lex fighting. Clark could feel his strength begin to return to him, but as it did he heard Kara let out a deafening scream. Clark took off from his spot, but when he arrived at Supergirl she was face down in a puddle of blood, and Lex was nowhere to be seen. Clark knelt down beside Kara hastily and gently rolled her over. Her face was so bruised and bloody that Clark couldn't recognize any of her facial features. Clark cradled Kara to his chest as a cry of pain was forced out of the Man of Steels lunges. There were over ten thousand people who died in Winslow Schott's attack; Luthor had done all of this for a reason...he had led Clark here, he had killed all of those innocent people to send a message; and now he had sent an even clearer message; if Lex couldn't have Metropolis, no one would... Lex wanted to destroy everything Clark cared about. Clark could feel the rage swelling in him; he could feel it as his anger pushed him over the edge. With the voices of thousands of dead screaming for him to avenge them, Clark took off from his spot; his mind focused on only one thing...War had been declared.

Superman pulled himself from his memories as he looked over the unfamiliar Earth once again. A sigh of disappointment escaped his lips as he remembered how he had charged into Lexes lab...if things hadn't gone the way they did...he might have killed Lex. Clark took a deep breath; over ten thousand dead in one morning, and not to mention Kara...she could be dead for all Clark knew. Clark was sure of one thing; that Lex wanted this over as much as he did; but Clark knew that in Lexes mind there was only one way this could end.

...

Tony was looking over Bruce Banners shoulder in the lab as Reed and Sue Richards both analyzed a small piece of Kryptonite that Lex had pulled from his suit. Lex meanwhile repaired his armor with the extra components Tony had offered. Black Widow and HawkEye were both readying their arsenals for the coming battle as Thor reviewed the footage they had taken of Superman while he was in captivity.

"Tony, I don't need you looking over my shoulder. I need to concentrate on this." Bruce said as he stopped his work on his gamma suppressant and faced Tony, who looked at Bruce as if he had just told him pie was exactly three.

"Uh, sorry Bruce; but the last three times I've let you in here I had to have the floor re-tiled from your giant green footprints." Bruce sighed heavily.

"I've said I'm sorry plenty of times. Can you please just give me some space?" Bruce said in a somewhat raised voice

Tony backed off slowly and joined Thor at the viewing screen. "A wise decision not to aggravate him." Thor said with a slight grin as Tony began to stare at the screen.

"I've learned a few things since his last freak out...have you been watching him?" Thor cleared his throat.

"Yes. He has been making repairs to his armor, just as he said he would..." Tony began to walk slowly away from Thor and towards Reed and Sue.

"Hey lovebirds, how's the research going?" Reed looked over to Tony with a look of bewilderment on his face, the small fragment of Kryptonite resonating a dim green glow within the containment chamber.

"It's the most unstable element I've ever seen. It contains certain components that we've only ever seen in Supernovas! I've taken several shards and bombarded them with different kinds of radiation, some to increase heat, some to try and irradiate the material ever further. So far I've been able to change its entire makeup into three different yet similar elements." Reed directed Tony to a tray with three small disks on it. In the disks Tony could see a red shard, a black shard, and a gold shard.

"It's exactly like Luthor said it was. I've never seen anything like this...maybe it really could have come from another universe" Sue said as she placed a worried hand on Reeds shoulder. Reed took hold of her hand and stood up from his chair, wrapping his arms around her.

"Don't worry Sue; Johnny knows not to go after him directly without backup. He's an adult now." Sue shot Reed a mean look.

"He's only twenty one! He still gets me to cut the burnt spots off of his toast." Reed brushed a hand across Sue's hair.

"He'll be fine. Wade's on the way, if anything happens he can Teleport in and get Johnny." Tony's head shot up from observing the different fragments.

"What! No. Risking a Green Giant attack is one thing; but I will not work with that psychopath!" Tony shouted, although he looked right at Reed he wasn't talking to him; it was more a declaration to the entire room. "Huddle up everyone! Team meeting!" Tony said as everyone but Bruce and Lex began to groaningly make their way over. "Hey, BanBam!" Tony said to Bruce, who looked over with a slightly agitated look on his face. "Team includes you! Get over here." As Lex began to stop his repairs, Tony shouted to him. "You don't have to bother; this wont take long." Lex continued to put away his tools and made his way over to the rest of the team.

"I understand how important this mission is; and the odds that we're going up against. But I will not, under any condition; work with Wade Wilson." Tony said as he if he were putting his foot down on the matter.

"Come on Tony;" Reed began. "His abilities make him valuable."

"Yeah? Well unfortunately they also drove him out of his damn mind." Tony said as he sat down in his chair and crossed his arms. "I can work with Bruce; he at least tries to not be a monster; but I saw DeadPool gun down the Giaviti family...women; children...and then he laughed about it afterwards; said it would get him a cameo for sure... You're not bringing that nut-job into the house my Mother grew up in." Everyone lowered their heads as they remembered the incident.

"They were a vicious mob family Tony." Black Widow said in a mock defense of Wade.

"He killed the kids Nat... I don't want him anywhere near this team." As Tony spoke Lex took note of how the others, even Thor, seemed to bend to his sappy story. Lex knew that someone as powerful as this Wilson character could be an effective tool against Superman, but Lex needed the Avengers on his side.

"I agree with Mr. Stark. If this DeadPool, as you call him, could present harm to the general populace then I suggest leaving him behind. Superman will cause enough damage as it is." Thor looked over to Lex with a look of admiration on his face.

"I concur. We must try our best to reduce any damage to the cities or the people." Thor said as Tony looked over to Lex, his eyes narrowed as if he were trying to read Lex. Lex responded with a warm smile, though he started to wonder if Stark wasn't falling for his story.

"Reed, give Wade a call. Tell him if he shows up I'll let Thor at him with his hammer. " A wide smile crept over Thors face.

"Mjonlir and I would enjoy that greatly." Thor said as he pounded his fist into his palm. As Reed made the call to DeadPool, there was a loud beep that echoed from the comm. device on the wall.

"Master Stark, Captain America and Dr. Strange have just arrived." Tony walked up to the comm. device.

"Thank you Jarvis, send them up to the Lab." Tony then turned to Black Widow, with Lex standing not far away from her. "Nat, I take it Cap and Strange are up to date on the situation?" Black Widow nodded her head.

"Aye. They and the others were briefed while you were unconscious."

"Sue! Reed! I found him." Johnny Storm's voice cut in through the emergency radio frequency. Reed quickly hung up the phone and stretched his upper torso to the main computer; grabbing the microphone.

"'Johnny, what's your position?" For a moment there was no response.

"I'm just outside of New York by the abandoned Doom Factories. It looks like he's looking for something." Lex raced up beside Reed and grabbed the microphone from him.

"Do not engage! Do you hear me? Fall back to a safe distance."

"Uh oh. I think he heard me. He's coming this way...what should I do?" Reed snatched the microphone back from Lex.

"Fly Johnny! FLY! Keep in touch, we're on our way." Reed put down the microphone and turned to Sue, who had a look of terror on her face.

"Oh crap, he's catching up! He's too fast..." Reed looked from Sue to Tony, who had that look on his face that Reed only saw occasionally...Tony was ready for this; and he was ready to lead his team to another victory.

"Avengers!" Tony called out as he looked over his shoulder to the gathered Heroes. "Send out the call; we assemble at Johnny's last known location...gear up." Tony turned on his spot and made his way to his armor; as he did Bruce banner nervously walked up to him.

"Tony...what do you want me to do?" Tony looked to Bruce...

"Lex is going to be working something up with Reed and Pym once he's on site. I want you to help them...if we need the Hulk though." Bruce put his hand up, letting Tony know that he didn't have to say any more. "Thanks Bruce, I knew I could count on you." As Tony walked away to his armor,

Bruce called out; "But you can't count on the Hulk for anything." Tony said nothing back as he walked into his armory.


	4. Justice

The wind blew through Superman's hair as he flew through the air. It didn't matter where he was; this sensation was always the same. He closed his eyes and slowed his speed as he began to let his ears take in the wonders of this new world he found himself on; searching for any sign of Lex. He had gone back to where he had appeared in this world; there were a few scraps of Lexes armor scattered about, and Superman knew that he had to be here with him.

As Superman was flying high above Manhattan island; he heard a loud crash followed by the sounds of people screaming. Superman's heart raced as he used his enhanced sight to scope out the small island. As Superman examined one of the more run down neighborhoods he saw an all too familiar scene...

...

"Stay still you dang bug!" Shocker shouted as he fired blast after blast of his sonar pulse gloves. Spiderman leapt from his place on the side of a condemned building to a lamp post, swinging off of it and sticking to the wall of the adjacent building.

"But if I do that your aim will never improve. I'm trying to help you here." Shocker let out an aggravated grunt as he unleashed a powerful blast towards Spiderman; who leapt casually from his spot, planting his foot into Shockers head as he flipped around his back, landing in a crouched position facing Shocker as he fell to the ground. "Your balance is off too. It looks like you've put on the sinister six pounds. " Shocker let out another grunt.

"Shut up!" Shocker shouted as he threw his hand around his back, unleashing a powerful blast that Spiderman casually leapt over, landing on top of Shockers back; trapping his arm behind his back.

Spiderman began to flick Shocker in the back of the head as Shocker tried to swat Spiderman off of his back with his free hand. "This is way too much fun. If I didn't know better I'd think you wanted me to humiliate you and then throw you in, UGH!" Spiderman was suddenly tossed off of Shocker by an intense electric blast; tumbling several times on the ground before slamming into the wall of the building he had jumped from before.

Electro ran up to Shocker and offered him his hand to help him up. "No you idiot! You'll overload the circuit board!" Shocker shouted as he recoiled from Electro.

"You have to use you're head Electro, or you'll never be an effective member of society." Doctor Octopus said as he climbed into the scene from behind a building.

"You two took your sweet time!" Shocker said in agitation as he picked himself up from the ground.

"It's not our fault!" Electro said in defense. "The spider put me in a damn cocoon!" Electro shouted as Doc Ock cut in-between the two arguing.

"Spiderman is using a new kind of fluid; it hardens faster and solidifies into a harder substance." Octopus said as the three began to move in on Spiderman, who was still recuperating from his electro-shock treatment.

As Spiderman rose to his knees, gripping at his head, he thought to himself. "Why do my enemies know so much about me?"

"Why? Because you talk too much bug!" Shocker said as he and Electro both pointed their hands at Spiderman, ready to blast him into oblivion.

"I thought I had thought that. Not said it." Shocker let out another grunt.

"Enough of yer gibberin'. See you in hell Wall-Crawler " As Shocker and Electro unleashed their blasts at the half dazed Spiderman, he suddenly remembered that he had hidden his Aunt May's Birthday present in the top kitchen shelf; she always got Uncle Ben to reach the top shelf for her... The blasts collided with the ground, tossing up dirt and gravel as it tore into street and the side of the building. When the dust began to clear, there was nothing left of Spiderman, not even a piece of his uniform. Shocker let out an awe of...well, shock. "Holy crap! We vaporized him! There aint nothin' left." Shocker was so happy he could dance, Electro couldn't believe that there wasn't even a body left of Spiderman; and Doc Ock wondered how Spiderman had gotten away.

"Huh? I'm alive!" The three turned around quickly to see the sight of a man clad in blue with a red cape, and an unfamiliar symbol on his chest; floating gently above the ground and Spiderman tucked under his left arm.

"You looked like you could use a hand." Superman said to Spiderman as he set him down on his feet.

"You...you...you're really fast." Spiderman said, so overwhelmed by the fact that he wasn't fired to a crisp with his legs curled up into his belly. A light smile crept over The Man of Steels face.

"Thanks. You look like you could use a rest; let me take care of these guys." Spiderman nodded his head as Superman floated towards the three.

"Just who do you think you are?" Doc Ock said as he approached Superman, using his mechanical legs to hoist himself from the ground, Shocker running up beside him.

"Yeah! And what makes you think you can take care of us. We were just about to fry the Bug; and once I'm done with you, I'm gonna tear his damn legs off!" Shocker shouted in a fit of rage, powering up his gloves to full intensity. As Shocker went to release his blast, Superman ran to a foot in front of Shocker with super speed. As Shockers hands flew into Superman's chest the frame of his devices cracked, and unleashed a powerful backlash that sent Shocker soaring backwards, hitting Electro with his foot as he flew by him. Superman stood there, UN-flinched by the attack.

"Whoa." Superman heard Spiderman gasp. As Electro got up he threw a lightening blast towards Superman. As the blast neared him Superman pulled back his fist and punched the electric blast, dissipating it. "Did you just punch a lightening bolt?" Spiderman shouted in disbelief.

"Yep." Superman said as he looked back to Spiderman, half laughing; he then suddenly felt strong metal claws grip at his feet and arms. Doc Ock had taken hold of each of Superman's limbs with his mechanical arms.

"Electro! Lets see if he can handle a full blast, I'll hold him while you charge, just be sure not to shock him before I let go; I don't want you frying my interface."

"Yeah I know. I'm not stupid!" Electro shouted as he began to pump out as much electricity as he could, directing it into the palms of his hands.

Superman laughed lightly as Doc Ock held him. "Just so you know, it didn't have to end this way." Superman said as Doc Ock looked at him with a confused look. Superman suddenly wrapped his hands around the metallic arms that held him. Doc Ock suddenly felt himself being lifted from the ground as Superman used his incredible strength to lift him up.

"Quite a remarkable power you have. I'd love to study you further." Doc Ock said with a sinister sneer over his face. Without a word Superman flung Doc Ock around, forcing the claws off of him and sending Otto Octavius flying into Electro; who unleashed a powerful electric shower as the Doctor fell on top of him, trapping him underneath Doc Ock, whose arms were now dead weight from Electros power.

Spiderman approached Superman, who didn't need to use X-Ray vision to see the sight of amazement on his face. "You...you just took out three of my big baddies without breaking a sweat...you're awesome!" Spiderman said in an excited tone. "Please tell me you're working in Manhattan permanently? Luke and I have been getting a little overwhelm; uhg!" Superman suddenly smacked his head. "Uh, your not too busy are you? See those three are part of a group called the Sinister Six, and as you can count, there are only three of them here. My good friend Luke Cage was with me when we were attacked and separated." Superman looked around, he had no leads on Lex, and no idea where to start; he had to start looking for him...but as Spiderman spoke, he could hear the same kind of excitement in his voice that he heard in Jimmy Olsen the first time they had met.

"I can spare a few minutes" Superman said with a light smile.

...

Luke Cage could feel wall after wall crack and crumble on his back as he was forced through every room of a condemned library. Suddenly Luke felt his back hit a harder surface, the brick wall of the building; he let out a gasp as the Rhino slammed him through the wall and into the street.

"What's the matter 'Power Man'? Finally learning your not the king of this jungle?" Rhino said in a mock laugh Luke Cage began to lift himself off the ground, but as he did Rhino threw his head around, head butting Cage with such force that he was sent soaring ten feet into the air. As Luke Cage was in free fall, he felt a pair of cold talons dig into his shoulders He looked up to see the sight of the Vulture, his bald head reflecting the sun. Without a word Vulture took off into the air, then turning into a quick free-fall he released Luke, sending him soaring into the side of a building.

As Luke flew towards the wall he barely saw the flash of green that was perched on the wall. Luke was suddenly struck in the chest by a powerful mechanical tail and was sent soaring into an abandoned car on the side of the road, imbedding him in the roof. Luke let out several grunts as the Scorpion fell from his place on the wall and stared at Luke Cage as his companions gathered around them.

"Good work guys. With Cage out for the count, we can focus on Spiderman." Scorpion said as Rhino took point beside him.

"I ain't done with the bozo yet. I want to impale the creep on my horn!" Rhino said as he leapt on top of the car, crushing it even further. Rhino gripped the tatters of Luke's shirt and lifted him into the air. As he reared his head back, Rhino suddenly heard the familiar wisp of Spiderman's webbing. Rhino turned his head and saw Spiderman swing around the side of a building and land on the wall close to the three of his enemies.

"Luke!" Spiderman shouted at the sight of his friends condition as he hung in Rhinos hand.

"Heh, guess the Doc didn't do as well as he thought he would." Scorpion said as he removed a small vial from a pouch on his waist before tossing it to Vulture. "You know the backup plan. Make sure that stuff gets into the water." Vulture took off without another word.

Rhino leapt from the car, still clutching Luke in his hand. "You got here just in time to watch me kill your friend bug." Rhino said as he held Luke higher in the air. Then Rhino felt strong hands grab hold of his wrist. He looked over to see that Luke Cage had his eyes open, and was smiling.

"Sorry to disappoint; but a Cage is what keeps the Rhino locked up tight." Luke used all the strength he could muster and forced his feet back to the ground. Once his feet planted he used his momentum and swung Rhino over his head, throwing him towards the Scorpion, who was trapped between Rhino and a wall as they both went tumbling through the weak concrete.

"Luke! I was worried about you for a second." Spiderman said as he approached Luke, who rested himself against the car he had been smashed into moments before.

"You should know better than that Spidey. I'm tougher than I am good looking." Luke said with a weak grin through the pain.

"I wont lie to you Luke, you've looked worse than you do now."

"I think I'm all outta steam kid." A serious look suddenly came over Luke's face. "Wait! The Vulture! Spidey you gotta stop him!" Luke shot up to his feet and grabbed Spiderman by the shoulders.

"What? And leave you here to have all the fun? Don't worry, it's covered." A confused look came over Luke's face, but he let go of Spiderman's shoulders and lowered his hands to his waist. As he did the sound of moving rubble and painful groans brought their attention to the two super-powered tanks that had been tossed through the wall.

"You're gonna pay for that Cage" Scorpion shouted as his tail flung up behind him and released a large spread of acid. Spiderman acted quickly, web-zipping Luke by the chest and pulling him away from the acid. As Luke flew by Spiderman, he turned his attention to Scorpion, sending a well placed ball of webbing straight into the villains' tail hole.

"I am really good at that." Spiderman said as he watched Scorpion examine his stinger, Rhino stepping out of the rubble behind him. Scorpion pointed his tail to the ground as a small stream of foam began to fall from his point. Soon the foam stopped and a slow stream of acid flowed out.

"Nice try bug; but you're not the only one who's learned a few things." Scorpion said as he aimed his tail in Spiderman's direction. One blob of acid after another was launched at Spidey, who dodged them with effortless ease; making sure each time he leapt out of the way that Luke Cage would not be put in danger by his actions. Rhino meanwhile began a stampede towards Luke Cage, shouting with all of his might.

As Rhino closed in on the injured Luke Cage, Luke heard a strange whistling noise; and then suddenly there was a small cloud of dust where Rhino had once stood. The dust started to clear to reveal a red cape flapping in the wind, with an unfamiliar yellow emblem on its back. The man turned to Luke as he stepped off of Rhino, with the Vulture secured tightly under his arm.

"Hope you don't mind. I heard him talking about how he wanted to impale you; I wasn't going to give him the chance." A light smile came over Luke's face.

"Thanks stranger, you got here just in time." Luke said as he wobbled over and took a seat on the ground. "Rhino did a number on me, but I'll be fine. Just need to rest for a bit." Superman removed a small vial of liquid from his belt.

"This is what he had on him. There are microscopic nanites laced into this. I can't imagine them having good intentions for these." Superman's eyes suddenly turned a bright red; Luke watched in bedazzlement as the contents of the vial seemed to begin to smoke inside of the vial. Soon Superman released the vial and it smashed on the ground, but Superman never let up on his heat vision until he could see that every last nanite had been vaporized.

Superman looked up to Luke Cage, whose gaze had diverted from Superman to something behind him, the look of amazement being replaced by a look of pride. Superman turned around to see Spiderman dragging Scorpion behind him, wrapped up in a web cocoon. "Once I get out of here I'm gonna tear you to pieces you lousy good for nothing wall-crawler!" Scorpions mouth was quickly coated in a fine layer of quick drying webbing; shutting him up instantly.

"I don't know why I didn't do that in the first place." Spiderman said as he tossed Scorpion beside his unconscious allies. "So, I see you two have met. Luke...is he awesome or what?" Luke looked back to Superman, a look of uncertainty covering his face.

"Sure...and just who are you exactly?" Luke said as he placed on hand on a sore rib.

Superman looked over to Spiderman with a smile on his face. "We didn't get properly introduced either. My name is Ka...Clark, I'm Clark Kent." Spiderman crossed his arms.

"So, uh, Ck...what's with the big S on your chest?" Clark looked down at his chest to see his family crest looking back up at him.

"Why does everyone think it's supposed to be an S?" Clark said with an air of confusion that seemed to calm Luke Cage's nerves.

"Because it IS an S." Spiderman said as he scratched his head lightly.

"No, its a serpent trapped in a diamond. See, that's his eye, and this is his tail." Superman said as he explained the Kryptonian symbol to Spiderman.

"I hate to break up such an interesting conversation, but we should take care of the Sinister Six before they get up for round two." Luke said as he began to walk slowly over to the three villains that were still bound.

"I'll take care of them." Supermen said, and in a blur of red and blue, Scorpion; Vulture and Rhino were gone.

"Oh my wow! Luke!" Spiderman shouted. "Did you move how fast he sees?" Spiderman said with hasty excitement as Luke looked at him as if he were out of his mind.

"What did you say?" Spiderman shook his head and put his hand on his forehead.

"I'm telling you Luke; I can't wait to do another team up with this guy." Luke raised one of his eyebrows.

"Is that what you call this? I'd say it was more him doing all the work for us." Spiderman chuckled.

"Can't argue with the results though."

"They've been taken care of." Superman's voice said as he appeared before Spiderman and Luke in a blur of red and blue.

"Whoa! You did it already?" Spiderman said in a gasp.

"It's not so difficult when your as fast as quicksilver." Superman said with a grin.

"Oh, you know Pietro?" Spiderman said surprised. Superman looked from Luke to Spiderman with a look of confusion.

"Who?" Spiderman looked to Luke Cage.

"It doesn't matter." Luke said as he approached Superman. "I'm more interested in where you came from... Mr. Kent"

There was a brief silence between them. Superman debated what he should tell them; if he should even try to explain what he thought was going on...would they even believe him? "Where I came from...well, I was chasing down a known fugitive guilty of crimes against humanity...Lex Luthor. I had chased him to his secret underground instillation when I thought I had him cornered. He used some sort of device that I believe tore through the inter-dimensional barrier." Luke Cage raised his eyebrow.

"The what?" Luke said confused.

"Your saying you're from another dimension?" Spiderman said with a tone of amazement before Superman responded.

"An alternate reality. I've taken the time to analyze the Earth; everything is so similar to the Earth I'm familiar with, but there's so many things that are different."

"Oh yah, I've been to an alternate reality before." Spiderman said as he puffed out his chest. Luke let out a long sigh.

"Not this again."

"I'm telling you Luke, this old Lady with crazy hair pulled me out of my bed and sent me to an alternate reality where I had to stop a bad version of myself who had taken over Manhattan." Luke laughed out loud.

"Sure, and I just let you do it, eh?" Spiderman crossed his arms to mimic Luke.

"Your ego aside, maybe Madam Webb can help." Spiderman walked out into the middle of the street and began to yell into the sky. "Madam Webb?! I know it's been a while, but I've got someone here from an alternate reality that could use your help!" Spiderman stood in the street for several moments, unmoving.

"I don't think she heard you." Luke said with a smug grin. Spiderman looked over to him briefly before returning to his previous endeavor.

"Madam Webb...huh." Spiderman turned back to Superman. "Sorry, she usually just plucks me out of time when she needs me, it's not like she has a phone I can call her on."

Luke turned to Superman and could see the disappointment in his face...as if he was actually hoping Spiderman could have helped. "If you're looking for a way home, I'd recommend the abandoned Doom Factory just outside the city on the mainland. Doom was into that kind of stuff." Superman looked to Luke with a smile.

"Thank you and I should warn you. That criminal I was chasing; I'm fairly certain he is here as well...just be careful; there's no telling what Lex might be capable of right now."

As Superman took off into the air, Spiderman stood beside Luke Cage and watched Superman fly away. "I thought you didn't believe in alternate realities Luke." Luke turned his head slightly and grinned to Spiderman.

"I don't believe in a reality where Spiderman beat Luke Cage... But I believe him."

...

It took Superman less than five minutes to do full scan of the factories interior. As he came across a broken in part of the factory, which looked to have been the scene of a battle of some sort; Superman found what appeared to be a strange crate which was lined in...Led. Superman floated down to the crate and wiped away the thick layer of dust and debris that covered it. On top of the crate were the letters 'IN.D'. Superman analyzed the crate carefully. He couldn't think of a reason why it would be laced in led, other than the idea that it was giving off high levels of radioactivity. Superman hesitated to open the crate. What if there was a giant ball of kryptonite from this alternate reality? Maybe Spiderman would be willing to help investigate.

Superman stepped away from the crate and began to take off into the sky above the factory, doing a final sweep to make sure he didn't miss anything. As Superman scanned the area he could hear a voice whispering. "I'm just outside of New York by the abandoned Doom Factories. It looks like he's looking for something." Clark did not recognize the voice; but it was close.

"Do not engage! Do you hear me? Fall back to a safe distance." The all too familiar voice; Superman wasn't sure how he had missed him on his sweep, but he was here...Lex was here! Superman looked around and using his enhanced vision was able to pick out a man on fire floating the sky. Superman began to chase after him, and when Superman began to approach the man took off, leaving a trail of fire in his wake.

Superman began to chase the man through the sky before the man nose-dived into the abandoned factory. Superman followed him and the trail of fire for a way until the man seemed to disappear. Superman looked around, using his enhanced sight to see through the walls. As Superman moved about he listened intently for a heartbeat. Suddenly he heard what sounded like metal tearing skin. Superman examined the area that the sound came from and he could see someone lying on the ground, with what seemed to be a robotic humanoid standing above him, ready to strike.

Superman burst through the wall to see a young man with blonde hair and a blue jump suit with an embroidered 4 on the front laying unconscious on the floor.. The robot that stood over the boy had a strange face, square holes for eyes and the mouth, with a green hood over its head. "Unknown subject." The robot said in a low pitched monotone as it turned its attention to Superman. "Acquiring new target." The robot pounced towards Superman, leaping forward and grabbing hold of Superman's throat. Superman was surprised by the strength of the gears on the robot as his windpipe became restrained.

Superman felt his back hit the ground hard as a metal fist came around and hit him across the face. Superman used his heat vision to blast off the robots face plate, knocking it backwards. Superman rose to his feet, rubbing his neck as the robot got up as well. Superman looked at the complex under layer of circuitry that was now exposed. As the robot came in for another punch, Superman extended his fingers and held them tightly together; swinging his hand in the air and cutting through the arm of the robot.

The robot examined its broken appendage before returning its attention to Superman, leaping at him again. "Doom Bot will not fail!" The robot said as it brought down its good arm to strike at Superman. Superman grabbed hold of the bots hand, then using his heat vision he sent another blast into the bots face, frying its circuits.

The robot fell to the floor in a heap of short-wiring fuses. As Superman turned to fly away he heard a course of beeps echo through the air at a subsonic level. He turned back to the robot to see a bright blue glow emanating from its chest before it let loose a low explosion that sent Superman flying through the air; landing near the injured young man.

Superman lifted himself from the ground; steam billowing off of him as he approached the young man, using his senses to check for any injuries, but the boy had only suffered a mild concussion; he would be fine.

As Superman finished his examination of the boy he heard what sounded like the low roar of a stealth jet hovering...and a familiar whisper. Suddenly a section of the roof several yards away from Superman broke through from the outside; and what appeared to be a walking rock-man with a long blue cord wrapped around his waist stood in the factory. Superman was surprised to see that the rocks facial features shifted to an angry look as he gazed at Superman. "You made a big mistake." Superman looked down at the boy on the ground, and noticed that he was still smoking from the robots explosion...

"Johnny!" The cord around the rocks waist seemed to form a full upper torso as it unraveled from the giant, keeping one loop around him.

"This isn't what it looks like." Superman said desperately. Suddenly a third and familiar person appeared, the caped man who had taken him out before...Thor.

"Hold your tongue knave! Spout not your lies! You shall pay for the injustices you have committed upon the young Johnny Storm!" Thor spun his hammer around as a lightening bolt flew out of Mjonlir and collided with Superman's chest, sending him soaring through the building. Thor was quick to follow after him.

As The Thing ran to follow Thor, Reed grabbed hold of Johnny as they passed and then began to contract his belly, pulling Johnny into the sky. Reed closed his eyes as he tried to concentrate and make his ascend as slowly as possible. Within moments he could feel the cold touch of a metal gauntlet on his shoulder as it pulled him back into the jet. "Thanks Ton..." Reed began, but as he turned around he was face to face with Lex Luthor.

"Give your friend the attention he needs quickly. The more hands I have working on this the quicker it will go." Lex turned his attention to his work with Bruce Banner and Hank Pym. Reed felt a disgusted feeling crawl up his spine from how Lex spoke to him...but with all of his abilities; Superman was the real danger.

((It's important to point out at this point that the Avengers are under government sanctions; working directly for SHIELD; but as their own independent team; with funding from Stark to keep the whole operation going; with just enough government push from Captain America to get them the support they need. While this is good for the team; right now it is being pitted against Superman in a very bad way.))

((I really enjoy the comradery between Spiderman and Superman; personally I think that if two characters from the Main-stream DC and Marvel should ever cross-over; it should be them. I had fun writing them; that's my main point.))


	5. Lost Upon Deaf Ears

The Avengers had assembled in the docking bay. Thor was pacing furiously in front of the door to the hangar; which seemed to irritate Hank Pym. "Could you stop that bud?" Thor cast a disapproving glance towards the AntMan before returning to his pacing. "Hey! I asked you to stop." Hank said as he stood in Thors path.

"Hank! Don't start. Captain America and IronMan need a minute to talk, so we can give them a minute." Wasp said as she tried to calm her husband Hank. Ben Grimm stepped in between Thor and Hank.

"Johnny may not have a minute. We should be gone by now." Ben said as Black Panther stepped in.

"I have known the Captain for years; he will not wait to rescue a companion."

The door to the hangar opened, revealing IronMan and Captain America. "Everybody, here's the plan." Steve Rogers began. "Everyone but Thor who can go airborne will follow Tony. He will fill you in on your way. Thor, you'll follow the jet in case we don't get there in time. Your hammer was pretty effective against him." Thor clapped Mjonlir into his hand.

"I will take point Captain." Thor said before walking by him.

"Hank, Reed, Bruce. You three will be on the Avenjet helping Luthor on his device. Sue, Ben, you go with Reed; I'll leave your details up to him. Strange, you'll be on point with me. If Luthor is right and this guy is weak to Magic I want you on my back.".

"Of course he's weak to it. There's nothing magical about him. He's just a freak." Luthor said as he appeared behind Captain America. "I've finished the calibrations to your cannon. I just need someone to load it onto the Jet." Luthor said as he looked over to Tony, who had a look of uncertainty on his face.

"It's called the Avenjet. It was a token of good faith from our mutant friends." Tony said with a look of satisfaction.

"The only reason they gave it to us was because they got a new one. And they stripped most of the really cool stuff off of it." Hank said as he looked past Tony to the repainted and altered X-Jet.

"Whatever. Everyone knows their post. Fall in, we have a man to save." Tony said as the group made their way into the hangar. Reed rushed up beside Lex.

"Don't you have a helmet or some sort of face protection?" Reed asked with a note of concern in his voice. Lex reached up to a panel on his arm and pressed a button, activating the shield bubble around his head.

"Personal force-field, at this size it could maintain itself under an atom bomb." Reed was impressed by the technology that Lex had at his disposal.

"Handy, but why not wear a faceplate and extend the shield to your whole body?" Lex looked over to Reed with a look of slight annoyance on his face.

"Because everyone has to know that it's me fighting against him. If they don't know that it's Lex Luthor who's fighting for them, then they could fall prey to the allure of that super powered freak and his world where humans take the back-seat in society. People need to know that it was me who saved them. Me; who everyone thought was trying to rule the world, was actually fighting for them all along." Lex approached the Jet and turned back to Hank Pym. "Grab that cannon and harness it in to the table in the Jet." Lex turned back around and entered the jet without another word.

Reed turned around and saw Tony standing by, apparently he had been listening. "I think he has a bigger ego than you do Tony." Reed said with a slight grin.

"No he doesn't." Tony said with an air of irritation. His helmet mechanically shifted into place, and IronMans distorted voice cut through the air. "Alright everybody, fall out." IronMans boot jets kicked in and he took off into the air. Wasp was giving a kiss goodbye to her husband before joining Ms Marvel and WarMachine as they all took point behind Tony.

As Captain America was moving towards the Jet, Sue came up behind him and grabbed his arm. "Steve, can I talk to you for a minute." Steve Rogers gave Sue a confused look, but followed her behind the ship as she led him.

"What's this about Sue? Johnny could be in serious trouble." Sue cast a concerned look towards Steve.

"I know that; but this man...this Lex Luthor. I don't trust him." There was a moment of silence between the two.

"I know what you mean." Sue looked up and made eye contact.

"I don't think you do Steve. Whenever he looks at me...it sends a shiver down my spine. Call it women's intuition, but I have a bad feeling." Captain America lowered his head.

"Fury's orders are to take down this 'Superman' no matter the cost. Nick is struggling with the government to keep the military out of this. The President was terrified when he read Fury's report." Steve rubbed his forehead before he continued. "If this 'Superman' hadn't burst out of here leaving behind three of our members injured in the process, one of which was your husband, then we could have done this differently. But I have orders to bring this guy in. If even half of what this Luthor guy says is true, then he's a powerful force that can't be left unchecked." As Captain America finished, he looked into Sue's eyes to see the look of defeat, she knew that even if she didn't like Lex, right now she had to tolerate him. Sue walked passed Captain America and into the jet, turning herself invisible as she entered the jet.

...

"Thanks for the help Spidey." Luke Cage said as his personal nurse tended to his more serious wounds.

"No problem Luke." Spiderman said as he examined several books on Luke Cage's shelf on Historic Civil Rights movements. "I've been thinking," Spiderman began; "With IronFist on his world tour and my female counterpart joining up with the Warriors, we've been kind of overwhelmed here in Manhattan. With my enemies starting to learn from each other; and the Avengers constantly off doing who-knows-what; things are only going to get tougher. Maybe we should call in some old favors; get some more backup on our side." Spiderman turned from the books to see Luke Cage with a proud look on his face.

"Glad to see I'm not the only one taking this seriously. Take a look through those files in the red drawer." Spiderman moved from his place at Luke Cages bookshelf to the drawer. Spiderman took note of how much more care had gone into his office since he had hired some of the local kids to clean up after him.

"Don't you ever worry that they'll steal from you Luke?" Spiderman said, letting his mind wander. Luke though, had become used to Spiderman's...way with words.

"I trust them. Besides, everything that would put them in danger is locked up and they don't know about. Plus, how can anyone prove that they're more than what they seem when no one cares enough to look past what they see." A smile crept over Peter Parkers face… that was something Uncle Ben would have said.

"Wise words coming from a drugged up cripple." Spiderman said as he opened the drawer and removed the only file that was in there. Luke casting him a sneer.

"With my metabolism the morphine only dulls the pain; and I can't get addicted to it."

"A little light isn't it?" Spiderman said, waving the folder around in the air as Luke Cage used sign language to signal his nurse to leave before returning to Spiderman.

"Manhattan is a big place, and there's few enough of us in the area, finding them was hard enough. Give me time and I'll find more." Spiderman looked through several profiles on known vigilantes in the area.

"Black Cat? You can't be serious?" A wide grin appeared on Luke's face. "I thought that would get a response from you. I worked with her last week; she wouldn't shut up about you." Spiderman began rubbing his neck,

"Well, uh...I, uh..." Luke began to laugh.

"Damn Spidey, I've never seen a man so hesitant to get with a girl who wears tight black leather." Though Luke couldn't see it, a smile came over Pete's face at the thought of Felicia in her outfit.

"What about the X-Men? They're not even mentioned in your little folder." Spiderman said as he waved the folder in the air. A look of deep sorrow came over Lukes face.

"I keep in contact with Orora Monroe. She says that her team is keeping a low profile. They don't want to go inciting anymore fear after the whole MRA fiasco. Which I can understand..." Spiderman opened the file back up and continued to look through it.

"Oh here we go. DareDevil. I worked with him a few months ago when Kingpin was after that Lawyer...Mmmm...Murdock." Luke didn't waiver in his smile.

"Sure Spidey, take care of it." Luke said as Spiderman placed the file back in the drawer. Then Spiderman walked towards the window, he turned back and grabbed one of the smaller books off of Lukes bookshelf.

"I'm borrowing this." Spiderman said as he slipped the book into his belt, which turned out to be far less comfortable than he thought.

"Make sure you bring it back!" Luke shouted as Spiderman launched a web-line and swung out of the window.

As Spiderman swung along, he had to keep throwing himself high up into the air for a short free-fall to shift the book around in his belt. "Erg. I should put a pocket on the inside of my shirt." Spiderman thought as he shot another web to catch himself from free-fall. After three more attempts to shift the book into a comfortable position, Spiderman began to swing towards a wall, deciding that he would web the book to his chest under his uniform. As he let go of his web line and soared gracefully towards the wall; the whole world began to spin. Spiderman felt himself being spun around in every direction; his head was aching from the sensation. Then suddenly, Spiderman felt his feet land on solid ground and the sensation of spinning left him. Spiderman opened his eyes to see darkness crawling from every corner.

"An _old lady with crazy hair_ am I?" The light accent of Madam Webb echoed all around. Spiderman spun around to see her sitting in her Spider-Throne, her broken mirror reflecting alternate versions of Spiderman.

"You heard that?" Spiderman said quietly as he rubbed his neck. Madam Webb raised an eyebrow.

"I hear everything, you silly man." A loud gulp escaped Spiderman as he recoiled from Madam Webb.

"Now when I said crazy hair, I meant the good kind of crazy...you know like...uh." Spiderman scratched his head as he tried to think at the speed of light, but the faster he thought of what to say the more jumbled his thoughts would become. "I...uh..." Madam Webb swept her hand through the air, lifting Spiderman from his spot and levitating him towards the mirror.

"You really do talk too much. I have investigated the traveler that you encountered. The being that called himself Clark Kent." As Madam Webb spoke, her mirror shifted to show distorted images of Clark flying through the air, lifting cars over his head and handing people into the police. Spiderman's mind suddenly snapped to attention at the sight of the symbol of the serpent trapped in the diamond.

"Oh yah? I'm all ears." Spiderman said as he lay back, still floating in the air, enjoying the sensation of weightlessness.

"It was not an easy task to track down his origin. Even in the fabrics of our multiverse there are places that I cannot tread. He came here by the straining of a certain point in space-time; an occurrence that will not be possible with your means to recreate." A feeling of great sorrow came over Spiderman, empathy for his new found friend.

"So there's no way to get him home?" Spiderman asked desperately, to which a bright smile cut across the Madams face.

"Your care for this man is well placed. Fear not, there are other forces at work trying to bring him home. I will assist them however I can. But for now you must return. Your allies are in great peril. You must help them see as you see; without fear... for the true threat lies within." A confused look came over Peter Parkers face.

"What do you mean? What threat within?" The mirror began to swirl with a bright green glow. The smile on Madam Webb's face never wavered as the weightless feeling that Spiderman felt was replaced by the spinning sensation that he had felt earlier.

Suddenly Spiderman felt his feet plant firmly onto the wall he was leaping to before his encounter with Madam Webb; his hands and feet sticking him in place. "Great, I can always count on her to tell me something without actually telling me ANYTHING." A heavy sigh escaped Spiderman's lips as he pulled the book from his belt. "Why did I even take this book? Just to make a joke to Luke. Figures it would end up being a bad idea. Parker luck strikes again..." Spiderman said as he examined the cover of the book for the first time. " Awe man! I did a whole report on Martin Luther King last February." Spiderman said as he examined the book, before putting a small wire of webbing around it and sticking it to his chest under his shirt. "That'll do for now. I should still swing by Murdock's and see if he can get in contact with double D. Plus it'll give me some time to figure out what exactly Madam Webb just tried to warn me about."

...

"Oh god, oh god, oh god!" Johnny Storm thought to himself as he streaked through air as fast as he could, away from the colorful powerhouse that followed him. "Oh god, if he catches me he'll turn me into jelly. I really wouldn't mind having stone skin right about now." Johnny thought as he zigged through several broken pillars and Superman chased him. Johnny looked down and saw the hole in the roof of the Doom Factory that Ben had made when he blew up the bot-maker. Johnny nose dived into the factory and began to weave through the hallways, trying desperately to lose his pursuer.

Johnny turned a corner and put his feet on the ground, extinguishing his flame as he tried to catch his breath. As Johnny looked around he saw one of the broken down Doom-Bots that had been left after the battle with Doom a year earlier. Johnny ran up to the machine and noticed that its back panel was open. Johnny looked into the machine and saw a labyrinth of wires and things that he wasn't too sure what to call.

Johnny's mind suddenly flashed back to a year prior to when Reed and Sue had been examining a Bot they had captured, Johnny was there with them, but he was to pre-occupied with his video game. "Johnny, take a look at this system wiring, its so simple for a robot that a...well you, could reprogram it." Johnny cast sue an uninterested glance.

"Sue, please. I'm trying to catch 'em all. Or don't you want me to be Pokemon Champion?"

Johnny let out a deep sigh as he continued to stare into the heap of wire in front of him. "I have got to start paying attention to those two more often." Johnny thought before he started pushing things that looked like buttons, and pulling on a few wires. Johnny suddenly heard the robots power source ignite as its eyes lit up.

"Target: Johnny Storm Acquired. Elimination process commencing." Johnny looked up as the robot swung itself around with a large metal fist already coming down towards his face.

"Shi-." Was the last partial word to escape Johnny Storm before metal tore through the skin on his forehead.

...

The Avenjet pulled to a full-stop above the abandoned Doom Factory and entered hover mode with Thor floating beside the door hatch. Inside Reed Richards began to wrap himself around the waist of Ben Grimm. "Once Ben gets down, the rest of you can slide down me to get down to the field. " Reed cast a glance over his shoulder to Lex, Bruce and Hank as the three of them toiled away on Lexes 'secret weapon'. "I'll grab Johnny if he's injured and bring him back up with me." Reed could feel Sue's invisible hand resting on his shoulder. "Stay as close to Ben and the others as you can; keep them as safe. I'll get Johnny home." Reed whispered so that only Sue would hear him. He felt her lips press against his cheek as a light smile came over his face.

"Widow, you and HawkEye take point on Thor once you get down there. Panther, Strange and I will move in to flank him. Hopefully we can take him down before he takes off into the sky." Captain America stated as the hatch to the jet swung open as Ben took point at the door.

"Hang on tight stretch." Ben said with a smile before he leapt from the jet; Lex cast an irritated look towards the door as the jet shook slightly in the air. Black Widow and HawkEye were the first to go sliding down Reeds extended stomach, Black Panther not far behind them. Dr. Strange flew out the door and soared to the ground. As Captain America took point, he looked back and saw Hank Pym casting him a concerned look...he didn't trust Lex either. Steve Rogers took a deep sigh as he leapt out of the door grabbing hold of Reed and sliding down to meet his companions.

Captain America let go of Reed Richards and landed on the roof of the factory beside Black Panther and Dr. Strange. As Cap went to lead his team; he felt the whole factory shake as a section of the wall broke and Superman came flying out, landing in a heap of wreckage. Cap took off in an instant, leaping from the roof, and moving in to engage Superman. Thor came barreling out of the factory, his hammer spinning; the Thing not far behind him.

As Thor approached Superman, he began to lift himself up from his spot. "You don't understand, I'm not your enemy." Superman pleaded as Thor clapped Mjonlir into his hand.

"Ha! You dare to stain the honor of Thor by rendering him asunder? This time you shant best me so easily." Thor spun his hammer around and clapped it against Superman's chin, sending him soaring into the air; Thor following as quickly as he could.

"So much for keeping him out of the sky." Black Panther said to Cap as they began to chase after Thor.

"Strange, can you get Ben to Thor? He may not think so but he will need the backup." Stephen Strange reached his hands out and magically lifted Ben Grimm off the ground.

"I apologize in advance for this crude method. But without knowing exactly where they are I have no other means." Ben suddenly felt himself being launched through the air uncontrollably.

Thor reached out and took hold of Superman's boot as he flew through the air, still dazed from Thors hammer blow. Thor swung Superman around and sent him flying towards Manhattan Island. Thor pulled Mjonlir back as he soared towards Superman, ready to strike the moment he hit the ground. As Superman reached the ground, he spun himself around and willed himself to stop his descent. As Thor barreled towards him, Superman lifted his hand and caught Mjonlir, lifting his second hand and catching Thor by the chest. Thors face turned red with rage as he stared at Superman's fingers along Mjonlir. "You have to listen to me. I don't want to fight you." Superman struggled to keep Thor still.

"You dare lay your paws on the Hammer of the God of Thunder? I shall remove your hand cur!" Thor smashed his head against Supermans, loosening Superman's grip as Thor fell to the ground, more dazed than Superman was. Thor reached up and removed his helmet, seeing that the nose piece had broken off. "By the Eye of Odin." Thor said as he looked up to Superman, who had already gotten back to his feet. Superman started walking towards Thor, but as he did he could feel the ground beneath him shaking slightly. He turned around to the sight of the giant rock monster from before.

"It's clobberin' time!" Ben said as he swung back a powerful fist and threw it towards Superman. Superman began to block and parry the Things punches, using several techniques he had learned from Batman. Then suddenly Superman felt a powerful shock clash against his back, stunning him long enough for the Thing to get in a solid punch that sent Superman flying into a wall, cratering behind him. Superman pulled himself up and floated in the air, catching his breath. Superman looked up to the sight of Thor charging him, his blonde hair flowing in the wind as he barreled towards Superman; anger swelled in Clark as it became clear Thor wasn't going to let this go.

"Enough!" Superman shouted as he swung his fist around as Thor neared him, sending Thor flying back the way he came. Thing came up on Superman's side and tried to pounce ontop of him. As he landed on Superman he tried with all his strength to push the Man of Steel into submission, but Superman used his might to lift Ben Grimm above his head. Thor had already recovered and was charging Superman again. "Unhand him fiend!" Thor shouted. Superman tightened his grip on Ben before he threw him towards Thor. Ben crashed into Thor, sending them both soaring down the battle broken street.

Superman took a moment to catch his breath, as he did he heard a strange whistle on the wind. Suddenly Superman felt something strike him in the back of the head. Superman fell to the ground, reaching up for his head.

Captain America lifted his hand into the air and caught his shield as it came back to him. "Nice shot Cap." HawkEye said as he drew one of his explosive arrows and aimed it towards Superman, who was still nursing his injured head. Cap looked down to his shield and was shocked to see that there was a dent in it where it had struck Superman.

"Jeepers; even with Strange's enchantments my shield can't withstand this guys skin." Black Panther walked by Captain America.

"But it hurt him; we must overtake him now while he is disoriented." Superman started to raise himself off the ground.

"HawkEye, take the shot." Cap said as HawkEye let his arrow loose. As it approached Superman, he threw his cape up, the arrow exploded upon it, leaving Superman unharmed. As Superman got to his feet, HawkEye let another two arrows fly consecutively as Black Widow unleashed round after round out of her new pistol. The bullets bounced off of Superman's chest as he used his heat vision to explode the arrows before they came to close to him.

Black Widow and HawkEye stared at Superman with amazement, they didn't think they would do much damage, but they didn't expect to do absolutely nothing. Superman stared down his attackers, noticing that they seemed to diverge to the one with the shield for orders. Superman took off and charged towards the group. As he did Steve Rogers held his shield up in-between himself and Superman as Superman took hold of the shield and flew with Captain America several blocks away, before planting him gently into a wall.

"Listen! I don't know what you think is going on, but I'm not your enemy." A confused look came over Caps face. Was this one of his tricks that Luthor had warned him about?

"Tell that to the Torch." The mechanical voice of IronMan echoed through the air as he used his repulsors to blast Superman off of his team-mate. "You okay Cap?" Captain America pulled himself up, examining his shield as he did.

"Yah. I'm fine. Is Johnny Okay?" "I heard from Reed. He's got a bad head injury, his skull was almost fractured; he's lucky this guy didn't smash his head in." Cap suddenly felt anger surge through him.

"Lets get this guy."

Superman pulled himself off the ground. He was beginning to feel a slight pain in the back from being caught off-guard so many times. His attempts to reason with these people weren't working. He began to think he might have to take a different approach to this. There was suddenly an impact into the ground not far from Superman, smoke and dust being lifted into the air. Superman got into a ready stance, prepared to defend himself. A tall blonde woman, wearing a black mask and a black leotard with what appeared to be a giant yellow S on it, emerged from the smoke. Superman examined the woman's face, and a feeling of shock came over him. "Kara?" A smile broke through Superman's face, the resemblance was uncanny. She didn't answer him though; instead she responded by launching towards Superman, planting a powerful uppercut into his face and sending him flying into the air.

As Superman soared through the air he was blasted in the chest by a well placed cannon shot from WarMachines shoulder cannon, which caused Superman to crash into the roof of a nearby building. As Superman lifted himself up WarMachine, Dr. Stange, Wasp and Ms. Marvel landed several feet in front of him, IronMan joining them moments later. "Please...you're making a mistake. I'm not your enemy." Superman pleaded as he stood his ground.

"You have a funny way of showing it." IronMan said as he and WarMachine both raised their repulsor gloves and blasted Superman off of the roof.

The Avenjet followed the action as the battle went on; floating miles above Manhattan. Lex and the others worked away to configure the cannon. Hank and Reed were busy applying Lexes Kryptonite capsule while Bruce installed the lenses. Lex worked away on his own, dipping occasionally into the computer that Reed had set up for him; with limited access... "We're almost done here Lex, do you need a hand with what you're doing?" Reed asked over his shoulder.

"No, you would just get in my way. You can start integrating the venting upgrade. This plan wont work if this thing blows up in my face." As Lex spoke it was clear to Reed that he didn't feel comfortable working with them anymore than they were enjoying his company.

"Reed! Are you there?" Steve Rogers's voice cut through the air on the intercom. Reed stretched his arm and his head towards the comm. board and pressed the talk button.

"Captain. Have you finished the mission?" Reed asked with hope.

"Negative. We're throwing everything we have at him, but it doesn't seem to faze him for long. He's airborne right now. Warmachine and Thor are down. No serious injuries; but we can't keep this up forever. We need the cannon. Can I get an ETA?" Reed looked back to Lex and the others.

"We won't finish in time." Bruce Banner said.

"Lex, time?" Reed shouted.

"I can be done in fifteen minutes." Lex said before Reed relayed the inormation to Cap.

"Make it faster than that. Thor, Thing and Marvel are the only ones who can go toe to toe with this guy." Bruce clutched at the papers in his hands. If it was a heavy hitter that they needed, then Bruce could be that heavy hitter...

"We're working as fast as we can. Hold out for a little while longer Captain." As Reed began to retract his neck, he saw Bruce Banner at the side door. "Bruce...what are you doing?" Bruce looked back to Reed with a terrified look on his face.

"I can help them." Reed shook his head as he rose from his seat to bring his body to his head.

"No Bruce...we need you here." Reed pleaded as Bruce looked back to Lex and Hank.

"We need time. If there's anyone who can stand up to this guy; it's the Hulk...it's me."' Bruce pushed open the latch of the Avenjet and leapt backwards out of it.

"BRUCE!" Reed extended his hand out the door and tried to catch Bruce, but it was too late. As Reed came to the door and looked out the edge, he could see the tatters of Bruce Banners clothes floating in the wind, and the giant green behemoth was falling towards the city. "Oh Bruce...what have you done?"

((Next chapter; Hulk Smash! Thats the title of it; and it speaks for itself. Go ahead; click the button!))


	6. Hulk Smash!

Superman crashed into the ground. He could feel his chest burning from the double repulsor blast from IronMan and WarMachine. Superman knew he couldn't keep this up forever, but he had to keep trying to get through to them. WarMachine landed on the ground in front of Superman; his shoulder cannon arming itself. "Please, listen to me!" Superman stood up and reached out to WarMachine, but as he pleaded a blast shot from WarMachines shoulder and sent Superman stumbling backwards. "Please, uhg." Superman pleaded as he was struck again and knocked onto his back. WarMachine approached Superman and stood over him.

"Target is down." WarMachine turned to Captain America and IronMan as they came up behind him. "Hey Tony...whose gonna be Robin Hood?" A wide grin cut across Tonys face as he remembered the cartoon the two watched as children that Rhodes was quoting.

"Haha, very funny, smart guy." IronMan said as Captain America began to shout orders to Rhodes.

"Bag em and tag em Major. Don't want him getting up for another round." Almost as soon as Captain America had finished speaking, a red beam came up from Superman's place on the ground and pierced through WarMachines back plating. The light in WarMachines chest instantly died and the whole suit became dead weight. WarMachine fell over as Superman rose to his feet, a look of mixed anger and frustration covering his face.

"I've tried reasoning with you people, but for some reason you refuse to listen." As Superman spoke he heard a familiar whisper on the wind, and the sound of a twirling hammer. Superman turned his head to see Thor charging at him. Superman pulled back his fist, and as Thor approached him Superman let loose a powerful uppercut that sent Thor flying into the sky and out of sight.

"Avengers! Full Assault!" IronMan shouted as he and the remaining Avengers all began a full frontal assault on Superman, with Steve Rogers running to the sidelines to contact Fury. Superman fended off Thing and Ms Marvel as they came at him head on, Strange enchanted the weapons of Black Widow, HawkEye, and Black Panther. HawkEye aimed an electrical arrow towards Superman and launched the arrow. As Superman caught a punch thrown by Ms Marvel, he heard the sound of the arrow cutting the air. Superman turned his head for a moment and launched a concentrated heat blast from his eyes, which collided with the arrow and shattered it into pieces, before returning his attention to Ms. Marvel.

"Damn, even when hes fighting off those two he can deflect my arrows before they're anywhere close to him...Think it's safe to say I'm effectively useless." HawkEye said in a defeated tone as IronMan approached them, dragging WarMachine behind him.

"If I had a dollar for every time I had to drag you out of a mess like this...Oh wait, the government pays me hundreds of thousands of dollars every time I do... never mind." Tony said laughingly; he could only hear a muffled and inaudible voice through the thick layer of armor that encased his friend. "Don't worry, he fried your internal systems, but I should be able to get you out." Black Panther ran to IronMans aid.

"IronMan, HawkEye shall take WarMachine...you will see that you are not so useless my friend." Black Panther looked over to HawkEye, who couldn't help but smile.

"I'll take care of the Major. You two get in there and help out the others." HawkEye took hold of WarMachine and with Black Widows help they began to haul him to Captain America's position. IronMan took off with Panther not far behind him.

"You sure this is a good idea your Highness?" IronMan said as he looked back to Black Panther.

"The Magician Strange has enchanted my gauntlets. My punches shall do more than stun him." As they approached the battle, IronMan aimed a repulsor blast towards the ground beneath Superman; who was holding Thing up by one hand. As the ground broke Superman lost his grip on Thing, who fell off to the side as Black Panther leapt forward and connected a powerful fist with Supermans face.

Superman stumbled back as Black Panther pounced on top of him. Punch after punch collided with Superman's face, Superman could feel the full force of Panthers punches, as if something were negating his invulnerability...Magic. After several punches Panther landed a punch directly into Superman's chin, causing his gauntlet to snap under the pressure. Panthers bare hand collided with Superman's steel jaw, and his fist broke instantly in several places; two of his knuckles flattening out. Panther fell back off of Superman, clasping at his hand. Superman rolled over, his face slightly bruised; Superman spat out a large amount of blood, one of Panthers punches had caused his tooth to cut against his mouth.

Superman looked over to Black Panther as he lay on the ground, grasping at his hand. Superman began to rise to his feet shaking his head to regain composure; as he did Panther reached into a small pouch on his belt, pulling out several smoke pellets and launching them towards Superman. The pellets exploded over his chest and face as Panther leapt backwards. As Black Panther made his escape, he suddenly felt two hands grip under his arm pits. He looked up to see Wasp carrying him away. "Thank you Mrs. Pym." Black Panther said with an air of relief.

"Please T'Challa, call me Janet. How's your busted paw?" T'Challa cradled his injured arm to his chest.

"I require medical attention. Please take me to the Captains location." As Wasp flew Prince T'Challa to Captain America, she looked back over her shoulder to the battlefield. The streets were being torn to pieces. Damage to buildings had been minimal, and the area was void of civilians. But no doubt the people could hear the rumbles and feel the quakes as the Avengers fought on.

Thing rose out of the light pile of debris he had been buried under and began to charge towards Superman, who was still barely visible through the smoke. IronMan unleashed blast after blast towards Superman, who struggled to deflect every beam. Thing came up behind him and wrapped his arms around him in a bear hug and lifted him into the air. As Superman began to break free Ms. Marvel flew up to him and began to pummel Superman's face and stomach.

Superman could feel the fatigue setting in, every punch to his chest was doing damage, he had to end this. As another fist came towards his face, Superman moved his head out of the way as Ms. Marvels fist connected with Things face. The Thing fell backwards as Superman sent a kick into Ms. Marvel's stomach that launched her into IronMan. They both crashed into a nearby construction site, tumbling into a pile of metal beams. Superman spun around to the sight of Dr. Strange as he levitated above him. Dr. Strange held out his hands and suddenly Superman felt as if he were being squished into the ground. Superman could feel the street beneath him begin to crumble beneath his feet as he fought against the push. Superman could feel the pain begin to wrack his body. This man was the source of the magic; that much was clear. Clarks only chance now was to get away... Using all of his might, Superman launched himself from his spot, the ground beneath him almost exploded with the force that he used to break free from Strange's hold. Strange was thrown back by the force of the shock-wave.

Superman flew away from the battle scene; he had to get out of here. He had to get home...home to Lois. But how? Frustration set in as Superman came to dead stop in mid-air. Desperation began to overwhelm the Man of Steel as he tried to think of a way to stop all of this. There was a sudden flicker of blue light that Superman saw from the corner of his eye; he turned ready to defend himself, but instead of being attack he saw a man, blue skin covering every inch of his body, floating in the middle of the air. The man wore nothing and seemed to be staring at Superman with a vacant stare; Superman could make out a circular symbol of his forehead with a single dot in the center. The strange being examined Superman, who was overcome with an overwhelming feeling of curiosity.

The mans eyes seemed to shift from Superman to something else. Superman began to turn, but he could hear the sound of rushing wind before he could see his attacker. Mjonlir crashed into the side of Superman's head, sending him soaring through the air. As Superman tried to recover himself, he suddenly felt a strong hand grip him by his shirt. Superman opened his eyes to the sight of Thors long blonde hair flapping violently in the wind as Mjonlir came crashing into Superman's face again.

"Thou shalt succumb to the might of Thor!" Thor shouted, his grip held firm as he continued to pummel Superman again and again with him hammer. Superman felt his back crash into hard concrete as he and Thor reached the street below.

...

"Hold out for a little while longer Captain." Reeds voice cut through Captain Americas communicator before he pocketed it. Captain America looked over as Black Panther and Wasp landed not far from him.

"T'Challa!" Captain America shouted in worry as he saw the disfigured fist that his friend clutched to his chest.

"Worry not friend, I shall be well soon. This fight does not go in our favor." Captain America readied his shield.

"Fifteen more minutes and the cannon will be ready. We just need to keep him busy a little while longer." Suddenly Captain America heard Wasp gasp as she pointed into the air. Captain America looked to to the sight of two red capes soaring through the air and into the street several blocks away. "Damnit. The fights moving too close to the business area. We need to pull him back." Black Widow and HawkEye came running up to Captain America.

"WarMachines going to be ok. How are we doing?" Black Widow said as she approached. Captain America shook his head as she looked to him. "Have you informed the General?" Black Widow said.

"I tried. Something's jamming communications. I can't get a clear signal out of the battle zone." Steve said as he looked down to his SHIELD communication device. It was very strange that they would lose contact with them in the middle of Manhattan...

"STEVE! Come in!" Reeds voice cut through the ear piece.

"What is it Reed?" Captain America said hastily; praying that the cannon was finally finished.

"Steve! It's Bruce...he's on his way."

A confused look came over Captain Americas face. "What do you...oh God." The look of confusion washed away and was replaced by a look of complete terror. Captain America turned to HawkEye, a tone of urgency in his voice. "We need to start a full scale evacuation of a five mile radius of this area. Natasha I need you to find a way to get in contact with Fury." As Steve Rogers finished speaking there was a distinct whistle on the wind that was reminiscent of a bomb falling from on high. Captain America turned around as Hulk crashed into the Earth, leaving a crater in his wake. Rubble was thrown up and Captain America pulled Wasp in close and used his shield to deflect incoming debris.

Captain America lowered his shield as an unnatural lightening bolt flew through the sky in the distance; as he examined the debris pile he saw a large green hand erupt from the ground. "Wasp, go with HawkEye. T'Challa, go with Widow" Without anymore words the three teams parted ways as the Hulk crashed out of the ground. Captain America charged towards the Hulk. "Bruce!? You need to stop now!" Captain America called out, half knowing that his pleas were falling upon deaf ears. Hulk turned his head and cast an angry look at Captain America through his long tattered hair. A loud grunt escaped the Hulk.

"Hulk not here for Flag-Man." Without another word the Hulk launched himself from his spot, soaring through the air and towards the battle ground. A horrified feeling ran through Steve Rogers as he watched his friend launch himself towards the fight, not knowing who he should be more worried about.

...

Superman lay in the rubble as Thor stood above him, holding Mjonlir high above his head. A surge of electricity ran through the hammer before a lightening bolt exploded from the top of it and filled the sky above him. Thor then floated slightly above Superman before pointing hammer towards Superman. Another lightening bolt exploded from his hammer and collided with Superman's chest. As the lightening ended Thor floated above Superman, who was smoking from his chest, his uniform completely undamaged from the blast. "Thou hath been a worthy foe. I shall eagerly await the day when I face another of thines caliber." Superman opened his eyes, his face was bruised slightly and he could feel the burn in his chest from the lightening bolt; but he wouldn't stop now. Superman released a wide-range heat beam across Thors face. Thor shouted in pain as he fell to his knees; gripping at his face as it smoked from the intensity.

As Thor opened his eyes he suddenly felt a cold sensation run over his entire body; and before he knew it, he was encased in a thick layer of ice. Superman stopped using his arctic breath and began to cough slightly. He was more wounded than he was letting on; he had to get out of here. As Superman was about to take off there was a loud crash in the ground behind him. Superman spun around to see a giant green behemoth standing before him. "Great Krypton." Superman said breathlessly to himself; shocked by the mass of muscle that now towered before him. A look of frustration came over the Hulks face.

"Puny cape-man hurt Funny-talking man. Hulk not mind that; Puny Cape-Man use funny words too. Hulk hate funny words he not understand!" Hulk reached to the ground and picked up a large bolder that had been broken apart from his landing. "Hulk crush puny cape-man!" Hulk launched the bolder towards Superman, who used his forearm to protect himself as the bolder smashed to pieces upon him. Superman floated in air, giving the Hulk a disapproving glare.

"Puny cape man thinks he stronger than Hulk? Hulk strongest there is!" Hulk shouted in a fit of rage as he launched from his spot throwing a punch into Superman's face. Superman was able to dodge the punch, but was not able to avoid Hulk as he barreled into him. Superman was thrown back as Hulk brought his fist down on Superman's chest and planted him into the ground. Superman felt the wind escape him as he clutched at his ribs. "Hulk SMASH!" Hulk shouted as he lifted his foot and smashed it into Superman as he lay on the ground. The ground beneath Superman cratered from the force; but to Hulks surprise, Superman had grabbed hold of his foot and pushed against him with all his might. Superman lifted the Hulks foot off of him and flew up to Hulks face and landed several punches, sending the Hulk staggering backwards. As Superman charged forward, Hulk let out a furious roar and launched a fist around that connected to Superman's chest and sent him soaring out of the construction zone and into the city streets.

Superman crashed into a parked car on the side of the road, sending the car soaring into a nearby apartment building. Onlookers who had gathered to try and catch a glimpse of what was going on in the construction site went running in all directions as Superman wedged himself out of the cars debris. As Superman got to his feet he could hear the roaring of the green behemoth as he came dropping out of the air and onto Superman. The Earth cratered beneath Superman as he blocked Hulks attack with his forearms. Superman couldn't believe the amount of force he was being hit with. Superman was taken off guard by a swift kick into his chest which sent him flying through the apartment building and implanting into one of the buildings support structures. Superman wasn't even able to shake off the daze before Hulk came in and punched Superman in the chest as hard as he could, sending him soaring out of the building, taking pieces of its support structure with him as he went.

Superman felt his back crash into metal, and could hear the sound of the metal bending on his back. Superman could barely breathe, and it took a moment for him to notice that he had collided into the side of a bus, crushing the door. As Superman reached up to pry the door open; there were a series of quakes that rocked the ground beneath Superman's feet. He looked over to the apartment building he had been launched from to see the Hulk bounding towards him. A sense of terror came over Superman as he turned to face the Hulk; he had to get the battle away from these people. "Hulk smash you! Why you not smash?" Hulk shouted in a fit of rage, his muscles seemingly swelling up as his fist was brought down upon Superman's face; sending him soaring down the street. Superman's feet dug into the ground as he tried to slow himself; gravel and small pieces of the road were thrown into the air as his feet planted into the ground and locked himself in place.

Superman fell to his knees, spitting out a large amount of blood. He could feel his face pulsating from where he had been hit. "Can't...keep this up...feel...like I've gone another few rounds...with Doomsday." Superman thought to himself as he raised himself to his feet. His vision was dazed; he heard the dozens of screaming people crying for help as the Hulk raised the bus Superman had crashed into above his head. "NO!" Superman shouted. "The people!" Hulks face contorted in a fit of rage as he launched the bus towards Superman. Superman's heart skipped a beat as the bus soared towards him; he could hear the sounds of the people screaming, praying for their lives...he wouldn't let them die. Superman exploded from his spot, soaring above the bus and taking hold of the roof. Using the momentum of the throw, Superman hugged the roof close to his chest and spun his body around. The people inside of the bus were all pushed down as the bus swung around in the air. Superman leveled himself out as his cape fell around his shoulders, the wheels of the bus planting softly on the road.

Superman took a deep breath as he examined the people inside the bus using his X-Ray vision. No on was injured, save a broken finger or pulled muscle. A sigh of relief escaped Superman as he levitated above the bus; but his moment was short lived, as the sound of the furious roar of the Hulk boomed through the air. Superman looked up to the sight of the Hulk falling towards him, both his fist pulled back. Superman couldn't believe the lack of concern for his surroundings this creature had; this **was** Doomsday all over again. Superman took a deep breath and as the Hulk neared the unleashed a powerful gust from his lungs. The Hulks hair began to blow furiously as his descent began to slow. For what was only a moment the Hulk hung in the air, Superman's breath beginning to reverse his trajectory. Superman unleashed a final gust that sent The Hulk soaring back in the direction he came, a roar of anger filling Superman's ears as the Hulk escaped his sight.

Superman returned his attention to the bus, tarring the crushed door off of its hinges. The people began to pour out of the bus. Many of the people thanked Superman, others walked by him giving him looks of fear. One man even spat at Superman when he walked by him. "Mutant trash, get back to the sewers." The man shouted as he ran down the street. Clark felt a rush of anger, he had gone through things like this back in Metropolis; he thought he had gotten past how much it hurt to be reminded he was different from everybody...but it was something that Clark had learned wasn't something that went away with time. There was a click, the sound of a gun being cocked. Superman spun around to the sight of Black Widow and HawkEye, both of whom had their weapons pointed towards him. Superman's vision was still dazed, and for a moment he almost thought he was looking at Green Arrow and Black Canary.

"You saved those people from the Hulk...why?" Black Widow said with a light Russian accent, HawkEyes fingers gripped firmly around his arrow.

"You people started this fight, I'm just trying to keep innocent people from getting hurt. Not that your green friend is making it easy." HawkEye and Black Widow exchanged glances; Black Widow nodded her head and they both lowered their weapons.

"We were here evacuating the civilians. My name is Natasha Romanov, I work with SHIELD; we're a group dedicated to ensuring peace and stability throughout the world. I have reason to believe that we have been fed false information." Black Widow said as she holstered her gun. "The Avengers are attacking you under the belief that you are an invading Alien from another universe who is bent on conquest. After seeing what you've just done though..."

HawkEye stepped in. "Lex lied to us. What do you know about him?" HawkEye said as he looked to Superman.

"Luthor?" Superman asked with mixed anger and relief.

"I take it you two **do** know each other then?" HawkEye said as anger washed over Superman's face.

"Where is he?" Superman asked in an urgent tone.

There was a sudden crash in the ground behind HawkEye, and the whole street seemed to explode. Superman lifted himself out of the rubble easily. HawkEye and Black Widow were no where to be seen. As Superman used his X-Ray vision to examine the wreckage, he felt a strong hand grip him by the back of his head and slam him into the ground.

...

Lex slid down Reed as he used himself as a rope from the plane to the ground. As Lex made it to the ground he found Hank Pym already setting up the cannon. Lex came up to examine Pym's work as Reed joined them completely on the ground. IronMan flew down from the Avenjet and joined them by the cannon. "Rhodes out of his armor; and the doc say that Johnny should be up soon." Tony informed Reed as Lex made several inspections of the cannon. Reed felt a wave of relief wash over him.

"Gentlemen, if you wouldn't mind; the sooner we get this machine working the sooner this battle will be over." Tony cast Lex a defiant look.

"Hey pal, we're getting our butts kicked out there fighting your fight. We've got everyone on scene to clean up after the Hulk, and with the long range communications out we have to find a way of calling for reinforcements."

"Have we found out whats causing the interference?" Hank Pym asked as he looked up from his work.

"It's Superman, he can see communication signals and can disrupt them with his vision." Lex said casually, continuing his work on his cannon.

"What? Why didn't you tell us this earlier?" Tony shouted as an annoyed sigh escaped Lex.

"We don't have the time for me to give you a complete run-down on all of his powers and abilities. I don't think I even know the extent of which he's fully capable. So stop arguing with me and get the Green Kryptonite piece out of the containment unit." Lex shouted at Tony, pointing his finger towards the Avenjet as it hovered miles above their heads. Tony's fists clenched; but his boots ignited, and he took off into the sky. A triumphant look came over Lexes face, they were buying it; soon the cannon would be in place. He would deliver the final blow to his greatest enemy...today was the day that Lex Luthor would kill Superman.

Tony was up in the Avenjet, furiously opening a lock-box that contained the meteorite fragment they needed...that Luthor needed. Tony held the small green rock in his hand. The tale of David and Goliath rushing through his mind. As Tony exited the Avenjet, off in the distance he saw what looked to be The Hulk...flying up, up and away into the atmosphere...zooming to the left and to the right as he went; but the Hulk couldn't fly. Soon The Hulk disappeared behind the clouds. Tony watched in mixed anticipation and horror. After a few moments Tony caught the sight of a human body falling from the place the Hulk had just been seen...Bruce? Fear echoed through Tony's body as he took off from his spot, he knew that the chances of reaching Bruce in time were close to none, but he had to try...he couldn't just watch his friend die.

Minutes rolled by as the three scientists worked away on the cannon, and before long the final calibrations were completed...it was ready to accept the Kryptonite core. "Mr. Stark, the fragment please." Lex held his hand out, admiring his handiwork and how flawlessly he had executed this plan; given the short time for planning. After a moment when nothing was placed in his hand, Lex turned his head furiously. "Damnit Stark, we don't have time to..." But Tony Stark was nowhere to be seen. Lex looked around in the sky and there in the distance he could see the twin rocket boots soaring off in the distance. Lexes face contorted with rage. He would make Stark pay for this. "You two, mount the cannon to the cliff. Make sure it wont budge unless I want it to." Lex barked at Pym and Reed as his own rocket boots ignited and he took off after IronMan.

...

Superman crashed through the side of a bank, debris and rubble falling as Superman landed in front of the waiting line. The tellers and several customers raced to safety as the Hulk smashed through the building, charging at Superman as he came. Superman unleashed a powerful blast of Heat-vision towards Hulk, the blast collided with the behemoths chest, for a moment it seemed as if the force were enough to stop Hulk, but Hulk pushed through the blast, throwing his hand over Superman's face and planting his head into the wall. Superman felt his feet lift off the ground, the Hulks angry voice booming through his head. "Hulk have no problem smashing before! Hulk prove him strongest by smashing you!" Hulk then smashed Superman into the ground; the floor crumbling beneath him as they broke through several sub-basement levels to the bank before colliding with one of the back-up generators. The explosion rocked the bank, several people were killed instantly, and dozens of other were wounded or trapped in the wreckage.

Superman lifted himself out of the debris that covered him, as he did he could see the Hulk also lifting himself up. Several charred bodies were scattered about; the Hulk took no notice of them as he blindly charged towards Superman again. Superman however couldn't take his eyes off of the corpses. How many more people had to die because of Luthor and his plans? An overwhelming fury overtook Superman as Hulks feet quaked the earth beneath him. Cries for help echoed through The Man of Steels ears...there was no way he could save everyone and fight off The Hulk at the same time...Superman rose from his spot and flew at high speed towards the Hulk; he collided with the behemoths chest and began to soar into the air. As Superman increased his speed, the Hulk began to pound into Superman's sides, sending Superman flying left to right each time he hit; but Superman's grip on The Hulk never loosened, and though he may have slowed after every punch, Superman was determined to get as high as he possibly could.

Another punch connected to Superman's rib, he could feel that one of his ribs had broken, and several others, if not all of them, were bruised horribly. As Superman reached the upper levels of the atmosphere the Hulk let out a giant yawn. The thin air wasn't enough to keep him awake. "Hulk...smash..." Were the last words to escape him as the Hulk drifted off into a black abyss and began to plummet towards to the planet below. Superman relaxed himself and began to take deep breaths as he hovered in the air. The Hulk would no doubt survive the fall; and Superman looked out to the starry sky that lay before him. He could just leave now...out there somewhere had to be a civilization that could get him home...maybe the Guardians were here in some shape or form...then a thought came to Superman that he was surprised he hadn't thought of before.

"If I'm not here; if there's no version of me on this Earth...then maybe that means Krypton wasn't destroyed!" A feeling of great joy and anticipation came over Superman. Maybe it was possible he'd come across his home, see an alternate version of himself where he hadn't lost everything before he ever knew it. As Superman's mind wandered he took one last glance towards the Hulk, but as his eyes searched he could not find the giant green behemoth falling to the Earth. Instead he could only find a skinny man with black hair falling to his untimely death.

"Oh no." Superman gasped as he took off from his spot, flying as fast as he could towards the falling man. He wasn't sure how it had happened, but it didn't matter; he wouldn't let another person die because of him. Superman reached higher and higher speeds, he was gaining on the man, but he was getting closer to the ground, Superman could feel his ribs straining from the beating the Hulk had given him, but he had to push faster. He came up to the unconscious man as placed his body between him and the ground. Superman caught him just in time; before his back collided with the ground; Superman left a small crater in the earth from where he had crashed. He quickly examined the mans body with X-Ray vision...no serious injuries. A relieved feeling came over Clark, but his work wasn't over. He could hear the screaming from the people still trapped in the bank that had exploded. Superman rose to his feet and got ready to take off into the air, but as he did he was hit from behind by a repulsor beam. Superman crashed into the ground, looking up to the sight of IronMan floating in the air.

"Yah, it's not so funny when I've got the jump on you, is it?" IronMan said as he held out his hand, the green rock clenched in his fist. Superman felt a sudden weakness come over him; his injuries suddenly began to take twice the effect on him. Superman collapsed onto his back, gripping at his ribs. "That's right pal. Now I'm going to take you in and get some answers out of you." Superman struggled against the pain to get the words out.

"Please...don't...The people...I can hear them. I can save them...Please...don't do this." Clark held his hand up to IronMan, pleading for the people he knew he could get to in time. Tony looked down at the sight before him; a man brought down by a debilitating weakness...Tony thought this must be what he must have looked like to Superman, reaching up to him, pleading for him to save his life.

Like lightening striking his brain, Tony had another of his famous epiphanies; yet this one was not for a grand weapon design, or a new tactic to lead his team to victory. This man was pleading not for himself, but for the lives of others. Tony could only ever recall pleading for his own life in such a manner. For a man...an alien no doubt, to show such compassion for people he doesn't even know, when he could just as easily level the whole city in a few moments meant that he couldn't possibly be as bad as Luthor made him out to be. Tony's fingers wrapped around the Kryptonite. "Don't make me regret this." Tony said as he tossed the Kryptonite behind him. Hoping his distrust of Lex wouldn't be his undoing.

Superman began to rise to his feet. "Thank you. And I promise; you won't." Superman said with a serious look as he took off into the sky and towards the city, where Tony could see the smoke billowing up from the streets.

"Jeez. It's time I put an end to this." Tony lifted his hand to his helmet and activated his communicator. "Captain America this is IronMan. I want you to call a stop to this mission. Superman isn't the enemy we think he is." IronMan waited for a response, but there was only a faint static. "What the hell? First long range communications and now...what the?" Tony tried to lower his arm to his side, but he couldn't budge. His whole suit seemed to have locked in place.

"I'm afraid I can't have you do that Mr. Stark." Lex Luthors voice cut in softly as he appeared from behind a nearby giant bolder, the piece of Kryptonite held firmly in his hand. "Don't worry, I left your little heart pumper running. You've drained so much energy in your fight that it shouldn't last more than an hour or so, and I really don't mind letting you die slowly." Lex said as he approached IronMan, who was frozen in place. Tony tried calling out several over-ride protocols, but nothing worked. "Your systems were child's-play to hack into. Richards thought he could limit my access to your mainframe, but your firewalls are a joke." Lex pushed Tony over onto his back. "I've waited too long for this. I wont let some carbon copy reject of me ruin my plans." Lex said as he cast a disgusted look at 'IronMan'. "If you are some alternate version of me Mr. Stark, you are the palest reflection I have ever encountered." Lex sent a repulsor blast to the large rock face he had been hiding behind, several large pieces of rock fell over IronMan. "You don't have worry about your company either Tony. I'll take good care of it." A wide grin cut across Lexes face as he launched another repulsor beam at the rock. The rock crumbled to pieces as several of the larger pieces fell on top of IronMan, trapping him beneath them.

"First I'll kill Superman, and after I do I'll use Starks resources to take control of this Earth, and eventually... I'll get back to my own with an entire army at my back." Lex clutched the Kryptonite in his hand as his mind began to fill with the triumphant victories he would achieve...but killing Superman would be his greatest, and to this world...his first.

((About time Lex showed his true colours. And I've been told that the Hulk fight is too short; I have thought of additions to it but I don't want to make it too much of a brawl fest. Hope you enjoyed so far; and to see how much more Lex is willing to do to achieve his end game; hit the next chapter button!))


	7. Assembled, We Are Strong

Reed and Hank waited by the cannon. It took them only a few minutes to make the adjustments that Lex wanted. "What the hell? He wont shut up about finishing this thing and then he just bails when it's done?" Hank complained as Reed monitored his communicator.

"I don't know what that man is thinking Hank...and now I have zero chatter on the communicator. It's as if the whole field just went quiet." Hank and Reed both looked over to each other with looks of worry. A thought went through both of their minds, but they didn't want to say it...what if there was no one left?

Reed heard the familiar sound of twin rocket boots as they propelled their wearer through the sky. Reed looked up expecting to see Tony and Lex land with good news; instead Reed was horrified to see Lex land before him with an unconscious Bruce Banner cradled in his arms. "Lex! How is he? Are his vitals stable?" Hank shouted as Lex placed Bruce gently on the ground.

"He'll be fine." Lex turned and walked by Reed, rubbing his head as he did. "Dr. Richards...I'm not quite sure how to tell you this..." Lex lowered his arm to his side; he did not turn to face Reed. Reed stared at the back of Lexes head.

"What? Where's Tony?" Reed said, worry evident in his voice. "There's no one on the comm. wave. What's going on out there?" Reed said as he grabbed hold of Lexes arm and forced him around. Reed looked into the guilty look on Lexes face.

"I'm sorry. He went to try and save Dr. Banner. He must have seen the fight from the j...the Avenjet. I chased after him thinking he was trying to do something with the meteor fragment...Superman must have seen the fragment and thought that IronMan was going to use it against him...this was all I could find." Lex reached into his back-piece and pulled out a face-plate that was heavily battle-damaged. A horrified feeling ran through Reed like venom as he took one look at the faceplate and recognized the design instantly.

"No..." Hank said as he placed his hand over his mouth, anger ringing through his voice. "He...killed Tony?" The words echoed through Reeds head as Hank said them. He didn't want to believe it, he especially didn't want to believe it coming from Lex...but in Reeds hands were the remains of Tony's armor...a tear streamed down Reeds face.

"The fragment...you got it back right?" Reed asked as he looked up to Lex, who reached to his back-piece and pulled out the glowing green rock.

"Tony's last act was to throw the rock away. I think he was trying to reason with Superman...I'm eternally sorry for your loss." Lex said as he lowered his head and turned away again. A hidden smile formed behind his face; he could have been an actor if it were a better paying profession.

"Install it. We end this now." Reed said in a strong voice. Tony was gone, and for all he knew the rest of the team could be too. Reed wouldn't let this be the way things ended.

"Don't worry." Lex said as he turned to face Reed, clutching the kryptonite in his fist. "I have a plan. Dr. Pym. Superman has been weakened by his fight with Hulk. You should be able to force him into the target area." Hank took a deep breath.

"I can do that... Keep an eye out for my wife, Reed." Hank said as he began to increase his mass.

"Ditto." Reed said as he helped Lex install the Kryptonite. Hank laughed to himself slightly; even if Sue was out there, she wouldn't want Hank to be the one to find her. As Antman bounded on towards his target his mind quickly filled with the sorrow he was trying to block off; but he didn't have time to grieve now.

Hank began to think of how this guy must have hurt Tony, and how Tony must have put up the fight of his life only to be...Hank didn't want to think it. "Rest easy Tony." Hank thought to himself. "I will take this guy down. Assembled we are strong, and this guy has taken everything we have to throw at him so far. Lets hope that assembled; we were strong enough."

...

"Holy Cow! All this happened while I was in the bathroom?" Spiderman said in amazement as he and Daredevil stood atop a building overlooking the carnage that had been the battlefield. Several buildings had ten to fifteen foot holes in them, and smoke was billowing from a building that they could not see.

"How did this happen? There was nothing on the news about this." Daredevil said as he cast Spiderman a horrified look.

"Madam Webb wasn't kidding... We've got to find the Avengers and figure out what's going on here." As Spiderman spoke there was a flash of green light that came from the east. Spiderman and Daredevil looked over, transfixed by the light. Spiderman's mind flashed back to just before he had been sent away from Maddam Webb...the flash of green in her mirror. "I've gotta go. Double D, start searching for Captain America and the others. They're around here somewhere." Without another word Spiderman leapt from his spot and began to web-sling towards his destination.

"I hate it when he calls me that." Dardevil thought to himself as he too leapt from the building and used his acrobatics to jump from wall to wall before landing on the ground. Daredevil began to make his way towards a strange tapping noise that was coming from below some rubble on the street below.

...

Superman raced in and out of the burning bank; blocks away the survivors were lined up, one by one as Superman continued to rush back to save the next poor soul. The rescued people looked around confused as more people appeared out of a blur of red and blue. "What happened? Are we dead?" One of the people asked in concern. A shadow suddenly spread over the crowd; everyone turned their heads and looked up into the sky. His red caped flapped gently in the wind, wrapping around his legs and part of his torso. There were bits of blood all over his blue chest, and his face was heavily bruised. He was taking heavy breaths as he floated in the air, smoke billowing slightly off of him as the wind swirled it all around him.

The people looked up in amazement. This was not the first time they had seen a costumed figure; but it was the way he looked out over the crowd, a smile perched across his face that brought warmth to the people. They looked to him and many returned the smile. He had saved them all, and now he watched over them to make sure they were unharmed from their ordeal. One of the men who were covered in ash approached, calling out to him. "Who are you?" The smile never wavered from his face; he looked from face to face, seeing the looks of gratefulness that shined towards him.

"I'm Superman." He said in a booming voice. Many of the people's eyes lit up as he spoke. One of the younger men smiled, and Clark could hear him whisper the name under his breath.

Superman could feel the pain from his ribs inhibiting his breathing; but he wasn't done yet. Superman took off from his spot at super-speed, leaving many people gasping as he went. Soon Superman glided gently to the destroyed roadside where he had encountered Black Widow and HawkEye. Superman quickly used his X-Ray vision and was able to pinpoint their location under the rubble. HawkEye had used himself as a shield to protect Natasha; HawkEye was injured bad, but Natasha had been able to keep them alive by breaking into a caved in basement closet. Superman lifted boulder after boulder until the light broke through to the closet where Black Widow held HawkEye's head on her lap. Her face was bruised, and there were several tiny cuts all across her body, they were both unconscious. Superman brought them both out of the hole; taking considerable care with HawkEye as he moved him, taking note of the several fractures along his shoulder and left arm.

"What have you done to them?" Superman spun around to the sight of a man who stood over twenty feet high...and seemed to be getting bigger. AntMans hand came down and smacked Superman away from Widow and HawkEye as if he were a fly. Hank rubbed his hand as he ran to quickly examine his friends; seeing that they were both breathing he returned his attention to Superman, who was picking himself up from the ground. "I've gotta get him to the target zone...I have a feeling I'm going to regret this later." Hank thought to himself as he began to charge towards Superman. A look of contorted anger and pain flew across Superman's face. He quickly sprung from his spot and soared towards AntMan as fast as he could manage. Superman collided with AntMans chest and began to take him flying with him.

AntMan grabbed hold of Superman and tried to pull him off of his chest, but as hard as he pulled, Superman wouldn't budge. Soon Antman felt his back smash into the ground as Superman bounced off of him, willing himself to stop in the air. Superman looked down to Antman as he rubbed his giant head. "Listen to me! I know you think I'm some kind of monster, but Luthor has been lying to you!" Superman pleaded as Antman rose to his knees. As Antman looked up to Superman, a green light filled the air.

Superman turned his head to look behind his shoulder, the green light giving him a headache as he looked into it. Superman was struck from the back by a powerful blast that engulfed the Man of Steels entire body. Superman felt an intense feeling of queasiness come over him as the pain from his injuries intensified. Superman felt his back crash into a wall as the blast continued to pummel him. Each pulse from the blast weakened and wounded Superman; he felt his stomach churning with every second, his head pounding with more ferocity every time he opened his eyes. He could feel his skin boiling underneath his uniform as he screamed out in pain. After what seemed to be an eternity the pulses stopped, and the energy beam began to dissipate. Superman fell to the ground, the overwhelming feeling of weakness and pain preventing him from focusing. His senses began to run crazy; he could hear everything all at once, jumbled as it used to be before he could focus. His vision jumped back and forth through different spectrum as his eyes tried to adjust themselves.

Antmans foot crashed into Superman's back with such force that it implanted him into the ground. Clark could feel the full force of the blow as the Kryptonite seemed to stick to him...the feeling wasn't leaving him.

...

DareDevil raced through the ruined street as he heard a female voice call out to him from high above. "DareDevil! Wait up!" Matt Murdock swung his head around in time to see the sonic vibrations from her voice illuminate her as she soared down to the ground.

"Wasp. You are safe! Are you injured?" Janet Pym landed in front of DareDevil and began to catch her breath.

"I'm fine...just tired. HawkEye sent me with some civilians to get them to safety...I haven't been able to find him since then." DareDevil looked over his shoulder, there were strange vibrations coming up from nearby rubble.

"Wasp, come here..." DareDevil said as he began to walk towards the rubble. Wasp followed with a look of slight confusion on her face.

"What is it?" Wasp said as DareDevil watched the rhythmic pattern of the noise echo up from the rubble. DareDevil began to mumble quietly to himself. "What?" Wasp said as she tried to listen in.

"Help me move these rocks." DareDevil said as he began to shift rocks from the pile. Wasp was still confused, but she followed suit and began to shift rubble from the site. As they cleared away the pile of rocks they could see that one of the larger rocks seemed to be held up by nothing.

"Move back! Get away from the debris field!" The harsh voice of Steve Rogers called through the invisible barrier that held that rock up. Wasp grabbed hold of DareDevil and flew up to a light hover in the air. The giant rock that was held in place was thrown forward to reveal a battle-fatigued Captain America holding his shield up to protect several civilians who were trapped with him. As Wasp flew back down to the ground Sue Richards began to appear before their eyes.

"Sue! Captain! Thank goodness you two are okay." Wasp said with an air of relief. The civilians began to scatter to safety as Captain America hoisted himself off the ground,

"I was evacuating the area when Hulk fell from the sky and slammed into the ground not far from where we were. If it weren't for Sue we'd all be dead now." Sue smiled towards Captain America.

"I've been following the action this whole time; using protective barriers to keep Superman from hurting anyone."As Sue spoke Steve began to fall over, Sue reached out and caught him, holding him up.

"Thank you again Sue. It won't take long for me to heal though." Steve said with assurance as he turned to DareDevil. "I take it you heard...or rather saw the civilians crying for help." DareDevil turned to face Captain America.

"Yes. It didn't take me long to distinguish the rhythm as multiple voices." As DareDevil spoke Steve lifted himself from Sue's care.

"Can you see anyone else trapped?" DareDevil took a quick look around.

"I cannot see anyone in the immediate area." Steve Rogers turned to deep thought as Wasp came up behind him.

"What are your orders Captain?" Wasp said in a worried tone. Steve Rogers turned to face her.

"We search the area. There have to be more survivors around." Captain America began to look down the streets, many of them were untouched; and the damage seemed to be restricted to several close spaces. "Huh...that's kind of funny." Sue cast Steve a dumbfound look.

"What could possibly be funny Steve?" Captain America cast Sue a confused smile.

"Usually when we fight the Hulk the damage is far worse than this. If Superman were as dangerous to the public as DeadPool you'd think that there would be more collateral damage." The three Avengers all exchanged worried looks. Sue began to bite her lower lip in anger.

"I'm sorry, Superman?" DareDevil said in confusion.

"He's an inter-dimensional traveler who we thought was trying to take over the planet." Captain America expected a different response from DareDevil than what came next.

"Inter-dimensional? Did he wear a red cape with an S on his chest?" DareDevil asked, making the Avengers eyebrows go up.

"Yeah...how do you know? That's supposed to be classified information." Captain America said as a wide grin cut across DareDevils face.

"When Spiderman knows about it; I would question how classified your 'Superman' really is." Captain America approached DareDevil with a serious look on his face.

"What did Spiderman say?"

"He said that he had been aided by a man who wore the attire I described. He helped Spiderman and Luke Cage dispatch of the Sinister Six before handing them into the proper authorities. Spiderman called him 'Clark Kent'. Well, he did the first time, after that he just called him 'CK'." Steve Rogers's eye's widened.

"Where is Spiderman now?" Steve said as he continued to question DareDevil, who seemed to be distracted by something.

"He...there was some kind of energy pulse, Spiderman went to investigate I assume." As DareDevil spoke he began to stare off into the distance and walked past Captain America in his daze.

"Energy pulse? The cannon!" Captain America looked over to Sue.

"Luthor." Sue said with a mix of anger and relief. As Captain America began to think about what his next step would be, all he could hear was the tapping noise that DareDevil was making on his leg with his finger. Tap,tap,tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap, tap, tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.

"Why are you doing that DareDevil?" Steve called out as he turned to DareDevil.

"Huh?" DareDevil said, too consumed with what he was seeing.

"You're tapping out an S.O.S. Any reason?" DareDevils eye's widened.

"Of course! How could I be so stupid?" DareDevil said as he smacked his head. "Wasp, take me up high." Wasp looked to Captain America, who nodded his head to DareDevils request. Wasp took DareDevil under the arms and lifted him into the air. DareDevil began to scan the area, and before long he was pointing Wasp to a nearby cliff side which seemed to be abandoned. Captain America and Sue Storm chased after them, Sue using her powers to lift them up to the cliff side on invisible disks.

Steve Rogers feet touched down on solid ground as he saw DareDevil examining a section of fallen rock. "What is it?" Captain America called out as he approached.

"There seems to be some kind of radio pulse generating an S.O.S. signal. Whatever the source is, it's coming from under this rock." Steve looked over to Sue.

"Can you lift it up?" Sue cast a worried look over to the giant stone, not sure if she could lift it or not after all she had done to protect the others during the fight with Superman.

"Sure. Everyone; move back." She said as she approached the rock and held her hand out in the air; an invisible force wrapped around the rock and began to lift it off the ground. Sue began to strain under the weight of rock as she moved it through the air and over empty ground.

The giant rock slammed against the ground as Sue Richards loosened her mental grip on it. Sue fell over at how much she had strained herself in the last several hours. Wasp rushed to her aid but Sue held her hand out, choosing to lift herself up instead. "Oh no! Tony!" Captain America shouted as he ran up to IronMan as he lay in the small crater in the ground. His armor was heavily damaged and the paint was almost completely chipped off.

"Sue! Help me get him up!" Captain America shouted. Sue used her powers to pull IronMan from the ground and laid him down on the ground before them; they all took notice of how his armor was stiff as a board. "Tony? Can you hear me?" Captain America shouted.

"The S.O.S. has not stopped, but I can see other vibrations coming from inside the suit...he is alive." DareDevil said, and as he spoke a wave of relief went through the Avengers.

"Sue, Janet; can you fix his suit?" Captain America said as he turned to the two; who exchanged worried looks.

"Shoudn't take too long. Just give us space to work." Janet Pym said as she and Sue Richards began to tinker with IronMans armor.

...

Again and again the foot of Antman crashed into Superman as the full force of every blow pushed him deeper into the ground. A rim of red began to outline Supermans vision as Antman stopped his attack. Superman could feel that several other ribs had broken; his airwaves were constricted and every breath caused him pain. Antman looked down to Superman as he writhed in pain on the ground.

Antman took several deep breaths as he wiped away some spit from his face. "For Tony." Hank murmured. As he turned to walk away he could hear Superman groaning out in pain. Hank wondered how Tony had come to his end by this guy...he didn't show Tony any mercy...and he wouldn't get any from him.

Antman turned around, anger swelling behind his eyes as he fought back the tears of grief for his fallen friend. Hank began to increase his mass some more as he prepared to drop down on Superman with every ounce of strength he had. As Hank approached he heard the sudden whisper of Spiderman's web shooter.

"Hank! What the heck are you doing?" Spiderman swung himself in-between Hank and Superman, holding his hands up to stop Antman from advancing.

"Out of the way kid; this guys going down!" Hank shouted as he lifted his foot, disregarding Spiderman's' safety. Spiderman sent a quick glob of webbing into Hank Pym's eyes, causing him to stumble back as he reached up and yanked the webbing off of his face. "Why are you fighting for him Spidey? Do you even know what he's done? Who he's hurt?" Hank shout as he slammed his fist into the ground; Spiderman leapt from one flying rock to another as he dodged Antmans attack.

"Whoa! Hank, calm down!" Spiderman shouted as he tried to calm one of the few people he considered his intellectual superior.

"No! I'm going to make him pay for what he's done!" Hank shouted as his anger began to take the best of him. Spiderman acted quickly; he knew he wouldn't last long against Antman in direct fight. He quickly spun a web-line around one of Hanks ankles and began to swing around his legs, binding them in his improved webbing formula. As Spiderman's webbing fully wrapped around his ankles, Spiderman landed to the ground nearby and pulled tight on the webbing. Antmans feet pulled together, causing him to lose balance and fall to his knees. Spiderman shook from the force of the impact and fell to the ground. As Spiderman looked up he saw only the large hand of Antman coming down on him, scooping him up and lifting him into the air.

"I won't let you stop me Spidey. We've come too far to let this guy win now." Hank said with a tone of anger Spidey had never heard before. There was a murderous rage in his voice that scared Spiderman. Hank pulled his arm back and threw Spiderman into the air. Spiderman acted quickly though; two web-lines were sent out in either direction that each snagged on adjacent buildings. The web-line strained under the force that Spiderman had been thrown with; but the improved webbing held, and Spiderman was launched back the way he had come, his foot stretched out in front of him.

"Spider-kick!" Spiderman shouted as his foot collided with Hank Pym's face, sending the Antmans head into the ground. Spiderman crashed into the ground, lifting himself up quickly. "Ouch! My foot!" Spiderman said in pain as he began to favor the foot he had **not** used to kick Hank Pym. Spiderman limped up to Antman as he examined his steady breathing; he moved around to Hanks face and saw that his eyes were shut tight. "Whoa, I...I knocked him out cold...One kick!" Spiderman said to himself, shocked by his own strength and the amount of strain that he had just put on his webbing. "Glad I let Reed take a look at my web formula. I really need to work with the FF more often." Spiderman said as he began to limp over to Superman. "Hey CK; what he heck is going on?" As Spiderman approached Superman he took noticed of how beat up Superman was. "Oh no. Are you okay?" Spiderman said with worry as he knelt down beside Superman and placed his hand on Superman's back.

"I...I'm hurting bad...that team attacked me...got smacked around by...a green Hulk...Luthor's behind it." Superman said through broken breaths, fighting off the pain from his injuries and the Kryptonite sickness.

"Luthor? Oh that guy you were chasing. Wait, you mean he got to the Avengers?" Spiderman said in shock, to which Superman nodded his head. It was like the missing puzzle piece had been filled in, Luthor was the threat within that Maddam Webb had warned him about.

Spiderman reached his hand down to Superman. "Lets get you out of here; once you heal up you'll be back to your Super-self." Spiderman said with a worried cheerfulness. As Superman reached up to take Spiderman's hand, there was a blue energy blast that collided with Spiderman's chest, sending him flying backwards. Superman looked upon Spiderman as he lay on the ground, unmoving; his chest beginning to smoke from the attack.

"No!" Superman shouted with a weak voice. Superman looked over to the sight of Lex Luthor, his energy cannon on his gauntlet still smoking. From behind Lex, Superman saw the man from before who had questioned him in the lab with Thor and Tony.

"Peter, no! Lex? What have you done?" Reed shouted in anger as he grabbed hold of Lex by his arm and swung him around. An electric charge ran through Reed, who screamed out in pain as he fell to the ground, his physical stability going wild.

"I've been getting very tired of how much you touch my armor." Lex said with a deep voice which no longer concealed his anger; he pulled a small round device from his belt and attached it to Reeds chest. The device set off a few lights before emitting an electric pulse which destabilized Reeds ability to control his elasticity. Reed turned to little more than a blob as shock after shock ran through his body.

Lex looked from the blob that had been Reed, to the smoking corpse of the red and blue clad Spiderman His eyes wandered over the unconscious Hank Pym. The smile Lex had been hiding this whole time broke through and covered his face. This was it; Superman had worn himself out against this worlds heroes, who were too divided and broken now to stop him. Lex began to laugh out in triumph as he thought of how easy it had all been. He turned to see his great adversary, reduced to a broken man gasping for life...but it wasn't complete yet. Lexes laughter calmed as he began to approach The Man of Steel.

"You feel it don't you?" Lex said with a smug sense of satisfaction; putting his arms behind his back. "That sickening feeling...and no green rock around? Hmp. I modified one of Reeds plasma cannons to do this. Quite a brilliant man; he created a plasma that takes on the particles in the air around it. Does that sound familiar at all?" Lex asked as he stood before Superman, towering above him as Superman's heart began to race with fear. "Hmp. It also means that your body is coated in fine layer of Kryptonite infused plasma. With only one dose it should keep you in this state for several hours." Lex knelt down and grabbed a hand-full of Superman's hair with one hand, forcing his head up to meet him face to face. "But you and I both know that a few hours of pain isn't good enough...not for you." The smile over Lexes face widened; he tossed Superman's head into the ground before standing up and grabbing hold of one of his legs. Lex began to drag Superman towards the cannon that was mounted not far away.

"I want you to know how easy it was for me this time. In a world that knew nothing about you or who you were, it was childs-play to convince them into thinking that the most powerful being amongst them was out to destroy them." Lex didn't look back to Superman as he dragged him closer and closer to the cannon.

"Lex...please." Superman pleaded as his ribs smacked against the ground beneath him.

"Don't you dare beg me for anything!" Lex shouted as he dropped Superman's leg, grabbing hold of his cape and tossing him onto his back; he then pointed a finger into Clarks bruised and bloody face. "I gave you your chance. I gave you every chance. We were like brothers once; Clark, I tried to make you see. You just refuse to see my side of things; and how the world really is." Superman looked up to Lex with a defiant look in his pain stricken face.

"Your...side of things? You profit of others pain...you manipulate to...get what you want. You murdered...your own father..." Lex threw a powerful armored punch into Supermans chest, breaking another rib.

"I've done everything I needed to in order to ensure that Mankind leads the future!" Lex said as he took hold of Supermans leg and continued to drag him.

"You've only...ever tried to ensure...your own future." Superman said through broken breaths. Lex stopped for a moment, another smile crossing his face.

"I. Am. The future." Lex said with pride as he continued walking, pulling Superman along behind him.

...

IronMan removed his helmet as the motion returned to his gears. He could move again. "Tony! Are you okay?" Sue said with worry as she knelt beside IronMan.

"I'll be fine in a minute." Tony said, anger booming through his voice.

"What is it Tony?" Captain America said as he approached his co-captain.

"Luthor...he's been manipulating us from the get-go." Tony said as an angry look fell over the Avengers faces. "He froze up my armor; left me for dead." Tony said, so angry that he was shouting.

"Relax Tony." Steve said as he placed his hand on Tony's shoulder. Tony looked into his friends eyes, Steve could tell that Tony was still in shock from what had happened to him.

"How did you find me?" Tony said, his sense returning to him.

"I followed an S.O.S. on a subsonic frequency." DareDevil said as he made himself known to IronMan.

"Huh, Luthor must have missed one of my back-up protocols. Or maybe he figured the signal wouldn't work since the communications are down." Tony said, his anger rising as he began to think how Luthor had played them. Tony rose up to his feet, his rocket boots igniting. "I'm going to get that son-of-a-bitch!" Tony shouted as he took off into the air and soared towards the battlefield.

"Tony!" Captain America shouted as IronMan took off. "Wasp; follow him. His power cells are almost on empty." Janet took off without a word. Steve looked back to Sue. "Can you get us to them?" Steve said as he examined Sue in her weakened condition; she still hadn't fully recovered from the fight.

"I don't know. I'll get us as close as I can though."

...

Lex dropped Supermans foot as he arrived at his and destination and gazed up at Reeds cannon. "Do you see it? That beautiful piece of technology? The Chinese invented the canon...along with paper...and most of the greater simple inventions of Mankind. Yet it was Lex Luthor who harnessed their designs to complete the ultimate of tasks. To vanquish his greatest of foes." Lex spun around, a wide smile still covering his face as Superman stared up at him, a look of determination never leaving his eyes.

"Lex...I never...wanted to be...your enemy...I...never wanted...any of this..." Superman said through the pain in his chest; Lex began to laugh.

"You don't really believe that do you Clark? We've always been at odds: For the heart of a woman; for the love of a City...for the admiration of the world! Everything I've always had to fight for was yours for the taking; and all you ever had to do was swoop in and save the day." Lex was shouting as he reached down and grabbed hold of Clark by the shirt and held him off the ground slightly. "Bullets bounce off your chest, so you put yourself in a gunfight and people call you a hero! But not here! Here people will know you for what you really are! A liar and a traitor to the core! And they will rejoice when they hear tales of how Lex Luthor; their Savior from another plain of existence; rescued them from the tyrannical rule that the 'Superman' threatened the world with." Lex dropped Clark back to the ground violently and turned to walk away.

"Can you...hear yourself Lex? You know...that's not...who I am." Lex stopped dead in his tracks; a look of disgust and sorrow covering his face.

"Do I? I had to figure you out all on my own. You were never honest with me Clark...you never trusted me." Clark saw Lex lower his head lightly for a moment before he turned to face Superman one last time. "You told the world that Superman never lies...but THAT was the biggest lie you ever told...to the world; and to yourself." Lexes rocket boots engaged as he took off into the air and towards the cannon perched on the cliff not twenty feet above Superman. Superman could feel his heart beating faster...the weight of Lexes words ringing in his mind. Lex still felt betrayed; after all of these years... after everything Lex had done; he still blamed Clark for it all.

Lex landed on the cliff and gazed down to Clark as he lay, sprawled out on the ground. Lex spun the cannon slightly and pointed in directly down towards his foe. "Good-bye...'Superman'." Lex said as he began to charge up the cannon. He pressed the injector button and the plasma began to bubble until it changed colour from clear to a vivid green. Lex went to press the button to vaporize the plasma; but as his finger hit the button, a bright yellow light collided with the cannon, cutting through the metal casing. There was a bright green light that emanated from the cannon before it exploded in Lexes face. Lexes shield held as his armor was torn and battered by the blast. Lex was thrown onto his back; he quickly opened a panel on his gauntlet and checked his remaining power level. His head-shield had been depleted by 67% in the blast. Lex looked down to a large metal shard that had torn through one of his power couplings; he was going to be loosing energy fast. Anger flushed through Lex as he looked into the air to see the chipped battle armor of the crimson clad IronMan as he landed in front of Lex, his helmet shifted back to reveal his face was more contorted with anger than Lexes was.

"I'm gonna make you pay for every second you made me work along side of you; you chrome-domed manipulative little bastard!" Tony shouted as his chest piece began to glow with a fierce intensity. Lex became momentarily transfixed by the glow as Tony launched a chest beam towards him with as much power as he could spare. Lex quickly pressed several buttons on the panel on his gauntlet as the shield over his head deactivated and a second full body shield activated. The beam collided with Lexes shield, and as it did Lex pressed several more buttons on his panel; the energy from Tony's blast began to pulsate around the shield before dissipating into nothing. After a moment Tony's attack ended, and Lex still stood there, his shield fluctuating around him as he began to laugh mockingly at Tony Stark.

"My goodness Mr. Stark; you have so little power to spare for yourself, I can't thank you enough for helping to recharge my battery. Now I should have enough power to finish off both of you." Lex lifted his arm for his side as two barrels appeared on either side of Lexes arm. The barrels shot out two condensed titanium rods; they soared through the air and one of them imbedded itself in Tony's shoulder, cutting through his armor and crushing bone as it tore through his skin.

"AHG!" Tony cried out in pain as he fell onto his back. Lex walked up to Tony and stood over him.

"As much as I'd like to stay and watch you bleed to death, I have more important matters to attend to." Lex said as he launched his foot into the side of Tony's face. Tony's head limped over as a steady stream of blood leaked from him nose. Lex looked down on Tony with contempt; if it weren't for that ill-timed explosion Lexes suit would still be at full charge...Lex lifted his foot into the air; he wouldn't be bothered by this pale reflection again.

"NO!" Wasp shouted as she crashed into Lexes back and knocked him off of the cliff. Lex tumbled the whole way until he hit the ground. As Lex rose to his feet he could see that Superman had taken advantage of his distraction and was trying to drag himself back to the site where his only friend in this world lay dead with a hole in his chest. Lex began to stand as Wasp crashed into his back again; this time grabbing hold of him and trying to pull him into the air.

Lex pressed a button on his belt as an electrical surge ran through the outer layer of his suit. Wasp screamed in pain as she was electrocuted, her hands releasing their grip on Lex, whose rocket boots kicked in as Wasp fell to the ground, Lex landing not far from her a moment later. Lex turned to see that Superman was out of sight now. "No! I won't miss this chance. I can still save this world." Lex ran off, following the only trail that Superman would go.

Clark reached up and pulled himself over a large piece of rubble. Lexes boot collided with Superman's back. "You won't get away from me! Not this time!" Lex shouted as he grabbed Clark by the shoulder, spinning him around onto his back. "I will be the one to kill you! Do you hear me you freak? I will be victorious!" Lex raised his arm and began to smash his fist into Clarks face. Again and again his metal gauntlet collided into his skull, tearing his flesh from his face. After three blows Lex lifted his fist for another attack when a spinning shield ricocheted off of Lexes armor, knocking him backwards as the shield bounced off of several large rocks before returning to the hand of Captain America.

"Your game is over Luthor. You lose." Captain America said as he readied his shield, Sue Richards and DareDevil getting behind him. Lex raised his arm and readied his cannon, a large blast billowed forth and collided with Captain Americas shield which resulted in a bedazzling display of energy reflecting off of Captain Americas adamantium shield; carving into the ground in front of Captain America. Lexes cannon began to overheat as Captain Americas shield remained untarnished from the blast. Lex quickly checked his power reserves...27% left. Lex knew he didn't have enough power to keep this fight up; and he was losing a tremendous amount more power than he usually did; a side-effect of the cannons plasma corrupting his power circuits.

A shadow overtook Lex as he examined his power level. Lex turned to the sight of the twenty-five foot Hank Pym clenching his fist back. "You ever lay a hand on my wife again!" Hank shouted as he pounded his fist into the ground, trapping Luthor beneath it. He raised his fist from the ground to reveal Lex was knocked out cold; "And I'll do worse to you than this!" Antman said as he turned to the sight of Janet Pym landing on the ground in front of Captain America.

"Hank!" She called out, relief evident in her voice. Hank quickly reduced his mass back to normal size as Janet leapt into his arms.

Janet turned to Captain America. "Steve, Tony is up on the cliff, he's injured pretty bad." Captain America signaled DareDevil to go get Tony ready for medical attention.

"Hank; where's Reed?" Sue said as she approached the two. Hank smiled and tilted his head to the direction he had come from. Sue looked over to see Reed Richards smiling lightly and holding a limping Spiderman under his shoulder as Spiderman leaned on him for support.

"One kick Reed, one kick! It was wicked. And I owe it all to you!" Reed smiled to Spiderman before he looked up and saw Sue standing beside Captain America. Reed left his arm and shoulder behind for Spiderman to lean on as Reed took two giant stretched out steps and pulled himself to his wife, wrapping his free arm around her several times. Sue smiled,

"I love it when you do that." Reed held Sue close.

"When the communications went down...I was so afraid that,"

"Don't say it. I'm fine. I think I may have handled myself better than you did." Sue said as she leaned forward and kissed Reed passionately.

"Aww, how sweet. I think I might be sick." The voice of Johnny Storm cut through the air as Reed and Sue swung their heads into the air to see The Human Torch floating in the air.

"Johnny! You're okay!" Sue said with relief as Spiderman caught up with the team.

"Hey Flame-Brain! You missed the party." Spiderman said as Johnny examined the charred hole in his suit.

"What happened to you Web-Head?" Johnny said with more curiosity than worry.

"That jerk in the green armor shot me in the chest!" A look of shock covered Johnny's face as he landed on the ground and turned his flames off.

"And you're not dead? What's the scam Spidey? Are you a robot again?" Spiderman cringed as he reached up under his shirt and removed the charred remains of Luke Cage's book on Martin Luther King.

"No scam; but if I go missing in the next few weeks don't count Luke out of the suspect list." Johnny laughed under his breath as several more of the Avengers began to arrive.

Ben Grimm was flown in by Ms. Marvel; the two of them had been dealing with a car wreck that had occurred during the fight between Superman and Hulk. Dr. Strange arrived with Thor, who was shaking heavily; he had blue lips and was still covered by bits of ice. "Where hath th-the cur g-gone?" Thor said as he clasped Mjonlir in his hand.

"Ease up Thor, Superman wasn't the bad guy. Luthor played us. He played all of us." Captain America said as he saw DareDevil appear on the cliff, signaling that Tony was ready for evac. "Strange, get Tony to a hospital; anyone else who needs attention go with him." Captain America said as Dr Strange flew up to the cliff. Cap began to approach Luthor laying unconscious in the ground; then looking up several yards away to where Superman lay unconscious on a rock, blood streaming out of his face.

"Reed, we need to get Superman back to your lab. Reverse whatever Lex did." Reed let go of Sue as Spiderman leapt onto Ben Grimms shoulder. Ben gave Spiderman an irritated look, but seeing how Spidey was injured; Ben let it slide.

"I'm not sure if I will be able to reverse it. But I'll do what I can for him." Spiderman cast a worried look over to Superman as Dr. Strange teleported back to the Avengers location.

"Doctor, I need you to get Superman to the infirmary at the mansion...and put Luthor into containment after the nurse checks him out." Steve said as Strange went to a point between Superman and Lex and began to teleport them back to the mansion, Reed, Sue, Thing and Spiderman accompanied them. Captain America turned to the remaining Avengers. "Everyone else, comb the area for Widow and HawkEye; we don't leave here without them." Hank quickly called out.

"I know where they are. They looked like they were hurt pretty bad." Captain America nodded his head.

"Lead the way."

((Two things I'd like to point out; I know Hank Pym seems like he has anger issues {which he does} but he probably wouldn't have really hurt Spidey. Plus Spidey is more capable than people give him credit for :p. There was a piece of foreshadowing done for this chapter accidentally. When Lex is getting the Avengers to set up his cannon, he says it wont be any good if it blows up in his face; which Tony makes happen. The foreshadow was not intentional; and while reading through the story to edit it; that caught my eye and made me laugh. Hope you all enjoyed the fight. Hit the next chapter button to learn more about the history of Lex and Clark.))


	8. The Legend Continues

Clark's eyes shifted restlessly as he woke to find himself in what appeared to be an infirmary. Clark noticed that his cape and the upper part of his uniform had been removed. He looked down to see that his chest and torso was covered with bruises; one of them across his chest was bigger than Clark's entire hand. Clark sighed as he remembered when Hulk had pounded him into the ground with his fist. Clark remembered the pain as he reached down to his ribs to discover that he wasn't wounded as badly as he had been...the sickness had left him. Clark could see a strange device that rested at the end of his bed.

Clark sat up and could see a number of electrodes placed over his head and on several points along his body to monitor his vitals. He looked over to his left and saw the rest of his uniform was hanging on a chair next to another bed, which was occupied by a man with short blonde hair; his arm was in a cast and he had a bandage around part of his head. Clark examined the name above the bed; Clint Barton. Clark took notice of the tattered purple uniform that lay on a chair next to him.

"Oh, you're up too. Good, I called for the nurse not even a minute ago." Clark spun his head around to his right and saw Tony Stark sitting in the bed next to him. Tony's arm was in a sling and Clark could see the bloody bandage on his shoulder. His nose had a brace on it which made him sound strange. Clark rubbed his head as he tried to remember how he had gotten here.

"What happened? Last thing I remember is Luthor hitting me." Clark asked as Tony narrowed his eyes before responding.

"Same. My head is still spinning." As Tony spoke he looked down to Clarks chest and was baffled by how quickly he was healing. Suddenly the door to the infirmary burst open and Pepper Potts came barging in, a look of worry and terror, mixed with annoyance and rage contorted her face to something Tony had only seen on one occasion when he had left her in Russia.

"Tony! What in gods name is wrong with you? Do you have any idea how much that cannon cost?" Pepper shouted as she waived a folder in the air. "Do you have the money for this? Because the company does not! I've told you that I don't want you using the company funds for your hero escapades." Pepper continued to badger Tony as some of the Avengers entered the room.

Captain America entered first; he left his shield at the door and removed his mask as he entered. Thor followed next, he placed Mjonlir beside Captain Americas shield and followed his companion; Reed entered wearing a lab coat, behind him was Thor with Peter Parker, who wore a pair of jeans and a sweat shirt Peter Parkers eyes lit up as he saw Clark sitting up in his bed.

"CK! You're looking a whole lot better." Superman gave Peter a confused look. "Oh yah, you never saw me without my mask." Peter reached into his back pocket and pulled out his Spiderman mask and put it on. "There, recognize me now?" Clarks face lit up with a smile as he removed the electrodes from himself.

"Whoa there, I'm not sure if you're fully healed yet." Reed said as he approached Clark.

"I feel better. What ever Lex did to me has worn off." Clark said as he reached for his uniform and began to put it back on. Reed turned to the machine that rested at Superman's bed.

"Yes. I was worried that even if we cured the sickness that your injuries would have been too severe to save you...I rigged up this device to emit a small solar burst, but we only got one use out of it. Glad to see it was enough to charge your powers up." Superman picked his cape up off the chair and held it in his arm as he listened to Reed. "I'm not sure how this sickness of yours works. I have no idea if you'll have any form of withdrawal from this procedure." Reed said with a worried tone.

"Don't worry." Clark began. "I've been healed before by using a similar device built by a friend of mine. I should be alright." Superman said with a smile as he began to put his cape on.

"Don't get ready to go anywhere just yet." Captain America said as he stepped forward. "We still have a lot of questions that we need answered." Clark looked over to Steve Rogers, a look of concern and slight irritation on his face.

"I'll tell you whatever you need to know." Clark said as Steve looked over to Thor, who gave Steve a harsh look.

"Sorry Mister...Kent. I'm afraid we're going to have to go to more...drastic measures to get the truth." Steve said as Clarks left eyebrow raised slightly before he placed his cape back down on the chair.

"What do you mean drastic measures?" Clark said in a strong tone. Reed stepped forward again with a comforting look on his face.

"Nothing dangerous I assure you. We have called in a specialist who is very capable at getting to the truth." Clark cast Reed a worried look. Steve stepped in knowing what Superman was thinking.

"He's a telepath. You don't have any problem to that do you?" Steve asked as he watched Clark closely.

"That depends on who this man is. I don't want an inexperienced person jumping through my head. A crazy Superman is the last thing I want to be." Clark said as a smile formed on Steves face.

"You won't have to worry about that. This man's the best at what he does." Clarks worry dissipated as Pepper Potts voice rang through that air.

"I don't care how much you didn't like the guy! I'm selling the Porsche AND the Lamborghini to help pay for this." Pepper shouted as she grabbed the folder from Tony's hand and stormed out of the room. Everyone looked over to Tony, who had a disappointed look on his face.

"Awe; not the Lamborghini..." Tony looked over to the others before a look of annoyance fell over his face. "You. All of you. Out...I want to be alone right now." Tony said as he turned his face away from the others. Clark could hear Tony sobbing slightly. The group exited the room, Thor and Steve picked up their weapons as they left. Clark heard Tony mutter under his breath "It was worth it. Stupid, bald jack-ass."

As the group made their way through the hallway Steve Rogers grabbed Clark lightly by the arm before calling out to the others as they walked on. "We'll meet you in the conference room." Steve then looked to Superman. "I have a few...personal questions if you don't mind." Clark looked at Steve Rogers with a look of confusion.

"Sure. What's on your mind?" Clark said as Steve took his hand off Clarks arm.

"You told Spiderman that your name is Clark Kent...is that true?" Clark nodded his head. "I see...Do you happen to know...I mean where you come from. Do you know a Matthew Kent?" Clark's eyes lit up brightly.

"My Grandfathers name was Matthew." Clark said softly as he looked at Steve Rogers with intensified curiosity.

"And did he...fight in the Second World War by any chance?" Clark crossed his arms.

"What are you getting at Captain?" Clark said with a tinge of irritation. Steve lowered his head.

"Follow me, please." Steve began to lead Clark down the hallway to his private quarters. Clark took notice of how the whole room had a fifties inspired theme to it...Clark liked it. "Is that him?" Steve Rogers asked as he pulled a picture off of his wall and handed it to Clark. Clark looked at the picture of Captain America with a squad of American Soldiers in WWII Germany; and there standing not three feet away from the Captain was his Grandfather, Matthew Kent.

"That's him alright...so is that your Grandfather in the suit.?" Steve laughed slightly as Clark handed the picture back to him.

"Nope...that's me." Steve said laughing as Clark looked at him in disbelief. "It's a long story. Frozen in Ice while fighting a Nazi general named Red Skull." Steve said as Clark smiled.

"Sounds like quite an adventure...so how'd Grandpa Matt help you out? In my world he had joined the Navy and served on a Carrier for five years." At Clarks words the smile that covered Steve Rogers face faded and was replaced by a look of grief and sorrow.

"My team...they all went in with me to take down Red Skull. None of them came out." Clark looked to Steve Rogers with a cross look.

"So he died?" Clark said, shock evident in his voice.

"Yes...sometimes I blame myself for what happened to Matty...to all of them. They followed my orders; my orders put them right into that mess..." Steve Rogers lowered his head in shame. "Sometimes I've wondered what I could have done different to save them." Steve lifted his head and turned to face Clark with a look of sincerity. "But the second you said that Kent 'The Boy Scout' was your Grandfather...that meant that somewhere out there he survived...he lived. He had a son. A son who raised a Superman." A look of pride crawled over Steve Rogers face; he quickly shook his head and brought himself back to reality.. "Sorry...I...we should get going to the conference room." Steve said as he moved towards the door and held it open for Superman as he walked by and into the hallway. The two said nothing to each other as they walked.

Steve Rogers and Clark Kent entered the conference room. Thor, Reed and Peter; who was still wearing his Spider-mask, all sat around the large table in the middle, and were placed near the other end of the room. Standing to the one side of the table was Black Widow beside a tall man with graying brown hair and an eye patch; he wore a blue jumpsuit with the SHIELD Emblem on his arm. At the other side of the table were two people Clark had never seen before. One of them was a bald man who sat in a wheel chair. He seemed to be older in years than anyone else in the room; and standing beside him was a man with brown hair who wore a strange visor over his eyes and a long black trench-coat. They all turned to face Clark and Steve as they entered. "Captain Rogers; I take it you have a good reason for letting the prisoner walk around unrestrained." Nick Fury said as he eyed Clark down.

"He helped us to contain the Hulk even when we were fighting against him, General. Plus if he wanted to leave, I doubt we could stop him." Steve said as he looked over to Clark and gave him a look that told Clark it was time he spoke for himself.

"I understand why you've done all of this. Lex believes that he and I are destined to fight to the death; and he's willing to use and hurt anyone it takes to kill me." Clark clenched his fist as he began to think of how many more people had died when the bank exploded. "But if you still want to go through my head to figure this out...then I'll allow it." Clark said as he took a seat at the table. General Fury smiled brightly, saying with shock in his voice,

"Wow. That was easier than I thought it would be. We didn't even have to coerce you at all." Clark cast Fury a defiant look.

"You'd be surprised how co-operative people can be if you give them the chance." Clark said proudly; Fury's smile widened as he fought back the laughter.

"Sure pal." Fury picked up a walk-e-talkie off the table. "Mr. Grimm, could you bring in the prisoner." Fury placed the walk-e-talkie down as Ben Grimms voice cut through the air.

"Yeh; no problem. I hate playen' babysitter fer this bozzo." Peter and Reed laughed lightly to each other as Fury began to approach Charles Xavier.

"This won't be too much a strain on you, will it Chuck?" Before Xavier could respond Scott Summers took a step forward so that he was uncomfortably close to Nick Fury.

"His name's Charles. Or Professor Xavier, to you." Cyclops said as his visor flickered slightly.

"Scott..." Xavier said as Cyclops took a step back. "To your question General Fury; no, it will not be too much for me. And please forgive Scott; you can understand his anger." Nick Fury cast an aggravated look at Scott Summers.

"You need to learn to let things go son. It was war; people die." Scott's anger took the best of him as he grabbed hold of Fury by the collar and slammed him into the wall.

"You people and your radical fears started that war! We tried to stop radicalism on both sides of the conflict! And what did SHIELD do? They enforced the MRA and even killed innocent mutants!" Fury didn't struggle against Scott; he could have easily put the boy in a coma; but Fury knew that Xavier wouldn't let his guards hurt anyone...especially not here. "Havok and I tried to stop your men and they killed him! Do you know who he was? Do you even care? You don't even know his name" As Scott shouted into Nick Furys face, Nick continued to smile back at him with a mocking glare. "Alex! His name was Alex!"

"Scott! That's enough!" Xaviers voice rang through the air. Scott seemed to struggle with himself as he released Fury and took a seat at the table...he was happy that people couldn't see him cry.

Ben Grimm entered the room with Lex Luthor on a dolly; Lex was bound by leather straps across his arms and legs. His hands and feet were also bound so tightly that it was impossible for Lex to escape without assistance. "Mr. Luthor; you've been very busy since the last time we spoke." Nick Fury said as he rubbed hin neck before he approached Lex, Ben Grimm walking over to join Reed at the opportunity to leave Lex's side.

"I've just been trying to do what I told you I would. Do you treat all of you partners like this?" As Lex spoke, Nick heard a light chuckle escape Scott Summers. Fury cast him an angry look with his good eye before returning his attention to Lex.

"You attacked our team. I'm pretty sure that wasn't part of our agreement." Nick said to Lex with irritation as he turned to Xavier. "Let's get this over with. Ms Romanov; please move Mr. Luthor closer to the table." Nick said as he took a seat next to Cyclops, who became very uncomfortable and crossed his arms; Fury taking a comfortable position in his seat.

Black Widow moved Luthor over to the table and placed him next to Superman, the two did not look at each other as Xavier rolled up in front of them both. "You need not worry; I will be doing nothing more than reading. You will both remain exactly as you are once I am done." Xavier said as Black Widow took a seat next to Fury. Charles closed his eyes and for a moment nothing happened; then Clark and Lex both felt a wave of euphoria run through them as their heads lumped over, and they fell into a psychic connection with Xavier.

...

Flashes of images rushed through Xaviers mind; at first they were completely jumbled; but Xavier began to distinguish between which images came from Superman, and which ones came from Lex. Xavier focused his attention and asked each of them how they knew each other.

Both minds responded with the same series of images. A young man walking along a bridge, Lex is driving up behind him; he reaches down to change the station on his radio and in that second his car swerved into the other boy and both he and the car fell into the river below.

The image changed quickly to reveal how Clark had saved Lex from the crash. Several scattered images flickered of Clark and Lex standing in a barn, or in a large exquisite mansion; sometimes they laughed, other times they argued; but they were friends none the less. Suddenly an image from Lexes mind took over as the image of a beautiful young woman with long red hair appeared before the two of them. Charles heard their two voices whisper the name "Lana."

A series of images echoed all around of both Clark and Lex professing their love to this girl, and she chose Clark. Lexes mind began to struggle as images of him, sitting in his mansion all alone, arguing with his father and with his friends began to overpower the memories of Lana. Xavier could feel the betrayal that Lex felt; he could feel the grief that had never left him.

Suddenly the images changed as Charles could see Clark saving many people; using his powers to protect the people of his home town, and in time growing to protect more than that. There were images of a strange rocket, a projection of a man in strange attire who called himself Jor-El. Lexes memories took over again as an image of a green rock found in the middle of field formed. Lex picked up the rock; then the image shifted to Lex showing the rock to Clark; whose skin changed to an unhealthy shade of yellow.

Lexes memories began to shift through his time spent investigating Clark. Charles saw several images flash through his mind of Lex paying people to follow Clark Kent...this was how Lex found out of Clarks abilities. Xavier was horrified when he saw the images of Lex killing the men he had hired. A thought of Lexes echoed through Charles mind as Lex pulled the trigger, "I have to protect him." A feeling of disgust came over Charles. Charles could see that if Clark needed protection, it was Lex he needed to be protected from.

Charles saw a few images of Clark and Lana arguing; Clark had trouble telling her the truth; and in the end this drove her into the arms of Lex. Charles watched in an instant as Lex manipulated and twisted the sweet girl and changed her into someone Charles barely recognized; Lana lost weight, became sick, became so unhappy but was unable to force herself away from the lifestyle that Lex had groomed her to be accustomed to. Suddenly Lexes memories were overtaken by Clarks as the image of Lana lying in a bed in a black dress with a bullet in her head, and the gun in her own hand.

The image changes to Clark confronting Lex; the two argued until Clark accused Lex of driving Lana to suicide. Lex pulled out the rock he had once found in a field and began to beat his friend with it. The image shifted to one of Lexes memories where Clark lay unconscious, recovering from Lexes attack in his bed; with Jonathan Kent screaming at Lex to leave his house. A heated argument occurs between the two and after Lex leaves, Jonathan Kent suffers a fatal heart attack from all of the stress. Clark rushes from his bed, despite his overwhelming sickness, to be at his fathers side in his final moments.

The image shifts to Lexes last memory of his own father. Lionel Luthors hair was blowing in the wind a he was half hanging out of his broken penthouse window; Lex holding him by his suit collar. The look of shock on Lionel's face changes to a look of pride; he whispers "I'm so proud of you...son." Lex pushed his father lightly and Lionel Luthor fell 49 stories to his death.

The two never spoke again as friends; and did not encounter each other for years to come. Charles watched as Clark traveled through the Arctic, seeking answers about who he was. An image of the Fortress glistening in the snow appeared before Charles as he began to see several of the images of Krypton; visions that Clark had seen during his time in the fortress. Suddenly the image changed to the symbol that Clark wore on his chest as he flew out of the Fortress and into the world.

Charles then followed the path of Lex as he took control of his fathers business and began a series of secret experiments in preparation of the day that Clark returned for revenge. Charles watched as Lex lived his life in fear; constantly telling himself that the most powerful being on the planet wanted to kill him.

Charles then saw time after time that Superman fought back Lexes best attempts to beat him. He saw as Superman built a legend around himself and inspired a whole world to greater things. He also saw Lex use this greatness to try and crush Superman countless times; his anger and jealousy growing with each defeat.

...

Charles opened his eyes, and as he did tears began to form. Charles reached up and wiped the tears away as Scott stood up, worry etching its way over his face. "Professor! Are you alright?" Scott asked as Charles looked up to him, Clark and Lex regaining consciousness.

"Yes Scott. I am fine." Charles turned to Nick Fury. "I would get tighter restraints for Mr. Luthor." Charles said as he moved over beside Scott.

"That's good enough for me." Fury said as he motioned Black Widow to remove Lex from the room. As Black Widow pushed Lex from the room; Lex began to laugh hysterically.

"You saw it too didn't you Clark? You can't lie to yourself anymore." Lex said as he continued to laugh as the door shut behind him

Clark clenched his fist as he resisted the urge to chase him down and show him who was lying to themselves. "What are you going to do with him?" Clark asked as he looked to Nick Fury, an angry look in Clarks eye.

"We were going to put him on Rykers; but I'm going to try and get him into the Vault. Usually we use it as a Meta-prison; but considering how he was able to hack IronMans suit...I don't think Maximum security would be good enough." Clark nodded in agreement.

"Do what you want with him. Just make sure he doesn't get the chance to hurt anyone ever again." Clark said as Spiderman, who had removed his mask and walked up beside Clark, put his hand on Clarks shoulder and spoke in a comforting tone.

"Hey CK; you okay? Hope Xavier didn't shake you up too bad." Clark looked over to Peter with a smile.

"I'm fine...I just...haven't thought about some things in a long time..." A look of grief fell over Clarks face. Xavier approached Clark with a look of concern.

"I'm sorry if you feel I intruded on anything too private." Clark looked over to Charles, his grief shifting to light anger.

"No. Is there somewhere I could be alone?" Clark said as he turned to Nick Fury.

"Captain Rogers will take you to one of the spare rooms." Nick looked over to Steve Rogers; who immediately began to make his way towards the door. Xavier raised his hand into the air.

"I will take him Captain." Xavier said as he made his way to the door, Cyclops following close behind him.

"You know where it is? You've only been here twice; I still get lost from time to time." Peter asked as he looked to Xavier slightly confused. "Oh ya, right. Telepath. Duh." Peter said as he scratched his head.

Clark and Charles, followed closely by Scott summers, exited the room and began to make their way through the hallways. "May I ask you something Mr. Kent?" Charles said in a comforting tone.

"You might not get an answer." Clark said with mild irritation; he had not enjoyed having his memories of Lana and his father brought up, and he didn't want to talk about it now.

"It is about Mr. Luthor. If he knew about who you really were; why did he not just tell the world? Release your secret to the press?" An angry look covered Clarks face; Charles quickly read the emotion to find that the anger was not directed at him.

"I don't know why. My friend Bruce thinks that if the world knew that Superman and Clark Kent were the same person it would make me...more human to the people. Bruce thinks that Lex wants to avoid having the public looking at me as one of them." Clark looked to Xavier,

"Then why not tell the people? Let them know who you are?" Clark shook his head.

"If my enemies knew who I really was...well I doubt all of them would be as 'kind' as Lex has been. There are people I care about, and if the world knew Clark Kent was Superman, then that same world wouldn't be safe for them anymore." Clark said as he look over Xavier, who seemed to be deep in thought. They walked in silence the rest of the way to the room. As Clark opened the door Charles asked him,

"What will you do now?" Clark looked back to him.

"I don't know. I...I need time to think." Clark entered the room and shut the door behind him. He wanted to badly to be alone and think; but it was torture for him to think of how he would get home. Lexes box didn't make it here with them; and if it did it was in too many pieces to ever hope to put back together.

Clark opened his eyes and began to approach the bed. As he lay down there was a sudden flash of blue light. Clark rose right back up from the bed and was face to face with the blue-skinned-man with the strange symbol on his forehead that he had seen during his battle with Thor. Clark got into a defensive stance. "What do you want?" Clark shouted as he clenched his fists.

"Fear not, son of Jor-El. I am no enemy of yours." The man spoke with a soft voice that seemed to reverberate off the walls as if he were speaking deeply.

"Who are you?" Clark said as he lowered his fist to his side.

"I have had many names. The one I was given from the Earthlings of my world was Dr. Manhattan." Clark cast a confused look at the man.

"Your world? Do you mean that...you're from another universe?" Clark said awestruck.

"Correct." Clark smiled as he looked up to Dr. Manhattan with a look of hope.

"Why are you here?" Clark said as he took a more relaxed stance.

"I was contacted by the Monitors of your quadrant of the Multiverse. They knew that you had been removed from their multiversal threads, but were unaware of where you had gone. It is quite a feat for one to escape the view of those who can see all that occurs in multiple universes." Clark did not understand much of what Dr. Manhattan had just said. Monitors? Multiversal threads? Yet the terms didn't matter; this man offered a way home.

"How did you get here? Can you move through Universes?" Clark asked as Dr. Manhattan held the same expression on his face.

"I am able to move through the universal threads. Though finding you has proven a more consuming task than I originally anticipated. Thankfully I was aided by a quite pleasant Spider-Goddess." A confused look came over Clarks face.

"What? But that was you I saw during the fight. Are you saying that you haven't done that yet?" Dr. Manhattans face changed to a slightly confused look for a moment.

"Oh. I see. Yes; I will be making an observational comparison between your time spent here and another's time displaced from their original universe at some point in the future." Clark looked even more confused than Dr. Manhattan did.

"In the future? But it already happened." Dr. Manhattan turned to Clark.

"It can be confusing. When moving through the Multiversal threads, I am able to displace myself through time; though I won't figure that out for several years." Clark began to look at Dr. Manhattan as if he were crazy; to which Dr. Manhattan turned to him with a worried look. "I apologize if my words confuse you. My perceptions...they have changed drastically since my discovery of the Multiverse. I am still trying to best articulate the experience." Clark cast an interested look at Dr. Manhattan.

"Changed? How did it change?" Clark asked.

"When I became aware of the Multiverses existence it was as if...one life became many...my life became instantly tied to those of others within the Multiverse...but they were always tied, I had just not yet discovered it. It opened up my perception in a way I never thought possible. As you are my counterpart, I am able to see your life as if it were my own...when you first learned of your heritage; when you saved Lex from his car; when your father died...the trials that made you stronger became a part of myself. That is how I was able to find you...and it is the same here...though with your presence here my perception of this universes counterpart seems...distorted." Clark's eyes widened.

"Counterpart? You mean...there is a **me** in this Universe? Where is he? Is Krypton still here?" Clark asked in desperation as Dr. Manhattan shook his head.

"It does not work as such. There are billions of factors to take into account when perceiving the Multiverse and its vastness of possibilities. If but one chemical is changed in the formation of a star, then that star; and the celestial bodies which encompass it, will be changed. The same can be said for the formation of a galaxy; or of a Universe itself... And such is the diversity; and wonder, of the Multiverse."

"What can you see? About this universes counterpart?" Clark asked with curiosity as he watched Dr. Manhattans eyes shift through a dazzling rainbow spectrum.

"He has sat..he has waited. He has grieved." A sad look overcame Dr. Manhattans face as his voice became deeper. "Father! Father! Come home Father!" Clark took a step back from Dr. Manhattan as he listened to the sorrow in the voice. "Come home to Zenn-La! Father!" Dr. Manhattan lifted his hand to his forehead. As he spoke his voice was back to normal.

"I apologize. My perceptions were overwhelmed for a moment. Your presence in this reality makes it difficult." A worried look was etched over Clarks face.

"I'm sorry. Are you alright?" Dr. Manhattan nodded his head. "What's Zenn-La?" Clark asked as Dr. Manhattan looked over to him.

"It is the planet in which our counterpart awaits his fathers return." Clark cast a confused look to Dr. Manhattan.

"Do you know what happened? Is there anything we can do?" Clark asked as Dr. Manhatten began to stare off blankly into the distance.

"Kaelin Radd's grief is not for us to worry ourselves with. You have a more pressing question to ask." Clark smiled lightly as he looked into Dr. Manhattans eyes.

"Can you get me home?"

"No." Dr. Manhattan said in the same bland tone of voice he had been using when he was first speaking.

"What? What do you mean no?" Clark asked in disbelief.

"I mean it is not within my power to transport others through the Multiversal threads." A feeling of disappointment flowed through Clark. "Do not fret Kal-El. It was not my mission to bring you home, only to determine your location." Clark looked back to Dr. Manhattan with a light smile on his face.

"So what will you do now?"

"I will report back to the Monitors of your Multiverse, They; and those you call friends, will find a way to bring you home." The smile never wavered from Clarks face as Dr. Manhattan spoke.

"They will. That's what I like to hear." Clark said as Dr. Manhattan smiled back to Clark as his eyes began to shift through a different arrangement of colours than Clark had seen from before.

"Three days, Kal-El. Three days and you will hold the one's you love dearest." In a flash of blue light Dr. Manhattan disappeared from the Universe; leaving Clark alone in his room.

"Three days? I'm sure I can keep myself busy." Clark said to himself with a smile. "Maybe I can catch up with Steve Rogers. I'm starting to wonder just how different the Matthew Kent he knew was from my Pop-pop." Clark thought to himself as he exited the room. But as he did he heard the voice of an excited Peter Parker as he ran down the hall.

"CK! You gotta check this out!" Peter ran up to Clark with a newspaper in his hand.

"What is it Peter?" Clark said as Peter handed him the paper.

"It's you! Well I mean it's a story about you! Just check it out!" Clark opened the Daily Bugle to see a picture of himself in full costume floating above the group of people he had saved from the bank. The article was entitled: Step Aside Masked Vigilantes. There's a 'Superman' In Manhattan. "I think you may have made J.J. Jameson your biggest fan." Peter said with a smile.

...

Three Days Later:

Clark watched as the sun began to set on his final day in this world as he stood atop the Baxter Building. Clark smiled to himself as he looked down at his uniform; Reed had added a thin layer of nanites to his suit that gave him an almost perfect immunity to Kryptonite, the Nanites formed into an almost tech-like design along his forearms and at several points on his legs. Clark smiled to himself as he thought back over his final day and how he had worked alongside the Fantastic Four; Clark chuckled as he remembered how Benn Grimm and himself had fooled the Rock Golems and saved the rest of the team.

Clark was certain of one thing; he had certainly had the time of his life here once he had stopped worrying about what was happening back on his own Earth; but he knew that Bruce and Diana and everyone else would be able to handle things while he was gone.

Superman heard the whisper of the Web-slinger as he made his approach. Clark liked that whenever he was on Manhattan Island he could always hear that whisper. Spiderman came up the building at high speed as he webbed hold of the roof of the Baxter building and swung himself lightly to the ground.

"Woah! Kind of overshot that one." Spiderman said as Clark moved over to meet him.

"Good to see you Peter. How's Aunt May?" Peter smiled.

"Oh you know her; she won't let me cook, she won't let me clean...she's doing fine." Clark returned the smile.

"Glad to hear it. What're you doing up here?" Spiderman scratched his head.

"That transparent am I?" Spiderman laughed lightly to himself. "I know how much it means to you that you get home as soon as you can; but do you have to go so soon?" Spiderman asked in a sad tone. "I mean, you've been here for three days. Well four if you count the day where everyone thought you were evil." Spiderman said as he shrugged his shoulders. "But I mean, just look at everything you've done here! You've got people looking into the sky with hope! And since I've been working with you Jameson can't get on my case without ticking off the whole planet!" Clark smiled.

"You can handle him Peter. I saw you take that Kraven character down with one arm, quite literally, tied behind your back." The worried look on Peters face was replaced by a grin.

"Yah. I am pretty amazing aren't I? Spectacular, even?" Spiderman said as he struck a pose with his fists placed on his waist. Clark laughed at Peters attempt to mimic his most famous of poses. A slight chuckle escapes Clark as he turned to face the setting sun.

"I do appreciate everything you've done though Peter. I just wish there was some way to stay in touch after I leave." Clark said as he watched the sun continue to move down towards the horizon. Peter walked up behind him as he began to speak

"I'm sure Reed will figure something out. If anyone can it's him." Clark turned around.

"I can agree to that. Reed is one of the most brilliant scientists I've ever met." As Clark spoke the sun disappeared behind the horizon.

"It's time." Clark whispered as the final rays of the sun vanished from the sky. For a moment nothing happened. Peter shuffled about in his spot restlessly until a bright orange light emanated from behind them. They both swung around to the sight of a dazzling swirl of orange energy seemingly hovering before them. Soon Clark could hear a voice shouting through the vortex. Clark grabbed Spiderman under the arms and flew with him above the Baxter building. Suddenly there was an outpour of light from the vortex as a red blur exploded from the light, and in less than a second, was soaring off the edge of the Baxter Building. As the figure slowed down Clark instantly recognized the red uniform and the yellow lightening bolts of the Fastest Man Alive...Barry Allen; as he began to plummet over seventy stories to the streets below.

"CK! Hail Mary!" Spiderman said as Clark looked down to him, a smile crept over Clarks face as he lifted Spiderman above his head and tossed him lightly towards The Flash as he fell to the ground. Spiderman zoomed by Flash as he sent a series of webs that connected from several adjacent buildings to form several sheets of webbing that Flash crashed into, slowing his descent as the webbing clung to his entire body and prevented him from harming himself due to whiplash. Spiderman then sent a web-line and used his speed to swing himself completely around and launch himself back towards Superman; who caught a web-line that Spiderman shot and set him down on a nearby building before descending to meet Barry on the webbing.

"Help! Somebody help me! I don't want to be Spider-chow!" Barry shouted as he feared that he might have accidentally ended up in some terrible spider-dominated universe.

"Barry! Please tell me you came here looking for me!" Clark said as he used a lightly ray of his heat vision to melt Spiderman's webbing away from the Flash, holding onto his arm so he wouldn't fall.

"Clark! Oh thank god! I was afraid that something had gone horribly wrong there for a minute." Barry said as he began to take notice of Clarks new suit. "Wait, you're Clark, Clark right? The one that was fighting Lex in a lab?" Clark gave Barry a confused look through his smile.

"Uh, last time I checked, I was. How many other Supermen did you go through?" Clark said as a joke as he flew Barry up towards the building he had left Spiderman on.

"You don't want to know Clark, trust me. If it weren't for The Monitor showing up when she, or it...whatever that's not important. We need to move, the portal won't hold for long." Clark nodded his head as they landed on the building with Spiderman on it.

"Hey there; let me guess...Bolt-man? Captain Lightening?" Barry laughed.

"The Flash." There was a blur of red and The Flash was behind Spiderman. "And don't you forget it." Barry said as he winked at Spiderman. "Better say your goodbye Clark. We have to go." Clark turned to Spiderman, who looked up to him with a look of sorrow.

"Wow...I guess this is it CK." Spiderman said as he lowered his head, "I...I'm really going to miss you." Clark reached out his hand,

"It's been an honor working with you...Spiderman." Spiderman looked up to Superman with a smile and shook his hand.

"Who knows? Maybe we'll even meet again." Peter said, the smiles never wavered from their faces as they shook hands.

"Remember our deal Pete. No one dies. Not on our watch." Superman turned to Flash. "I'm ready." Superman said as he flew into the air, grabbing Flash under his arms and flying him to the top of the Baxter building where the vortex still lingered. As they approached the roof Superman dropped Flash to his feet as he began to run as fast as he could.

"We have to break light speed as we breach the vortex, once were through just follow me!" Flash shouted as the two of them broke through the swirl of orange light.

...

Barry burst through the vortex and into Ray Palmers Lab on Manhattan Island, followed closely by Superman. This time however Flash was ready and began to stop himself the moment he felt his feet hit solid ground. Superman and Flash looked around as the vortex dissipated behind them. Ray Palmer, Mr. Terrific and Bruce Wayne were all standing by; and approached the two as they turned off the equipment. "It worked! He did it!" Ray Palmer shouted as he ran forward towards Superman; placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Clark! You're okay! What happened to your suit?" Ray said as he examined the new designs all across Clark's suit.

"A gift from a friend." Clark said hastily as he began to walk by Ray Palmer and towards Bruce. "Kara?" Clark said as he gave Bruce a serious look.

"She's recovered." Bruce said quickly. Bruce could feel Clarks tension, and Bruce knew that talking, and acting fast would be the best way of easing Clarks worry.

"I'd like to see her." Clark said as Bruce handed him his Justice League Communicator.

"She's had hers on ever since she found out you were missing." Bruce said as Clark began to smile.

Clark turned to the others. "I can't thank you all enough for getting me back home. I hope you all don't mind, but I have some things I need to take care of."

Barry laughed, "Don't worry about it. We Superheroes are used to not getting any recognition." Barry said as Clark laughed and began to make his way to the exit.

"Hey, Clark...where's Luthor?" Mr. Terrific asked as the rest of the League Members also took notice that Lex was not with him.

"He won't be a problem anymore." Clark said as he walked out of the room, Bruce following close behind him.

"So, do you want to talk about it?" Bruce asked as Clark continued walking.

"Maybe later. Right now I just want to check up on my cousin; and then go home and hold my wife." Clark said as Bruce smiled and stopped in his place.

"Was it very different from ours? The Earth you were on?" Bruce asked as Clark continued walking down the hallway.

"I'll tell you one thing Bruce. It was really...something marvelous."

END-?

(Well that was it. Superman is home and all is well. I hope you've all enjoyed reading this because I had a blast with the concept of this. It was really fun for me writing Dr. Manhattan into this. I've always wondered where he might have gone and how his power might have evolved. Hope you liked my interpretation of that. I also wanted to have more DC characters show up, but I hope I did justice to the ones that were there.)

(Thats it! Hope you enjoyed it, and please leave a review and let me know what you liked/didn't like. I'm always looking for creative feedback. )

_Though the story ends, the Legend continues. Head on over to the Epilogue to get a taste of what is to come; and check out the next stage of the story as it continues in; "Superman and The New Avengers"_


	9. Epilogue

The whisper of an organic web-shooter cuts through the air; there is a growl that echoes through the bay area of Detroit as a hulking figure draped in black slams into the side of a warehouse; sticking to its side as the creature unleashed another furious growl. His name is Eddie Brock, and the black alien symbiote is now bonded completely to him; he can feel the power of it as it draws strength from his anger. Together they have formed a being greater than either of them could hope to be alone; they are one...they are Venom.

Venom jumped to the ground and broke through a nearby door; once he was inside of the warehouse he launched a web-line to the roof and pulled himself up, perching upside-down on a rafter as he awaited his pursuers. The hunted would become the hunter.

...

"All Agents move into breaching positions. We have the creature cornered." Black Widows voice was transferred to the headset of four other SHIELD Team Leaders as they ordered their teams to a halt. Each of the Team Leaders had a squad of twelve men armed with sonic weapons and concussion grenades. Two of the teams were equipped with a three man Flamethrower squad. Each squad took point at one of the entrances. Black Widow came up to the door that Venom had gone in through. She turned and looked to her own squad comprised of only three others; the aged 'DumDum' Dugan took point at the door, he wore the tactical black SHIELD operative uniform with a cowboy hat on his head, and had one of Starks sonic pulse rifles. The other two operatives wore the same uniform as Dugan but with black masks and night vision goggles. The larger of the two agents had an assault rifle, and he took point at the door across from Dugan; the third agent held a pistol and a newly designed grenade.

"Hell-of-a-time to field test that new gizmo. Better hope it gets the job done kid." Dugan whispered as he looked over the third agent, who took point behind him, saying nothing as he did.

"Dugan, you two take the breach." Black Widow said before she turned to the third agent. "You're with me." The third agent nodded and began to follow Black Widow as they made their way to an adjacent building.

For several minutes there was silence. All the teams waited patiently as Black Widow got into position. The full moon illuminated several of the teams as it appeared from behind a group of clouds. The teams let out a unified gasp; each member praying that they would not be pounced upon at any moment. Then, as if their unified prayers were answered, Black Widows voice whispered through the head-sets of the teams leaders. "In position. Breach and contain. Dugan leads the initial breach."

For a moment there was an uneasy silence that fell upon the squads of men who were specially equipped for this battle; then in an instant there was a low percussion boom from Dugans breach; and the others followed suit seconds later.

The teams burst through the doors and began to do a full sweep of the area. Several of the men from each squad looked up to the ceiling as they went. There was a whisper, and then the chaos erupted. A large stack of metal boxes was pulled from its spot by organic webbing as the boxes fell onto several squad members. Several of the men fired to where it looked like the webbing came from, the sound of gunfire and sonic pulses filled the air for a moment, then as it stopped all that was heard was a low pitched growl, which echoed and lingered in the warehouse. One of the men screamed; Dugan shouted, "Bastard!" as bullets began to launch in random directions. Several of the squad members weren't fast enough and were hit by stray bullets.

The sound of Dugans pulse rifle echoed through the warehouse as several of the crates were suddenly smashed into. Several of the men that were close enough turned their guns to the sight of Venoms tonge slithering from his mouth, his razor sharp teeth shown as he opened his mouth and released a blood-thirty roar. One of the men went to fire a sonic weapon, but Venom jumped at him with lightening speed, palming the agents head in his hand and crushing it. One of the Flamethrower units moved up and launched a wave of fire towards Venom. The creature shouted in pain as it jumped up into the rafters. Several sonic weapons were fired into the rafters, shifting the support structures of the building. "Careful boys, don't bring the roof down on us!" Dugans voice shouted as the men began to scan for Venom.

One of the men was snagged by webbed and tossed into the air; the man screamed as he began to fall back to the ground. As one of the men moved in to save his companion, Venom jumped from the rafters and crushed the agents head under his feet before leaping away towards the next agent. Venoms claws dug into the mans skull as one of his tendrils slithered out of his suit and gripped the handle of the pistol in the mans belt. The tendril wrapped around the trigger and began to fire several shots towards one of the Flamethrower units. One of the bullets hit its mark and the man carrying the pack exploded into flames; igniting several of the agents that were close by.

Dugan rushed around the corner with seven men behind him, "Open Fire!" Dugan shouted as the seven men all fired sonic blasts towards Venom. The blasts hit Venom as he cried out in pain. Another Tendril launched from his back and snagged the top of the roof, pulling him to safety. "Don't let him get away!" Dugan shouted as several men fired into the rafters, shaking up the foundations more. "Hold your fire damnit...he's gone."

...

Venom punched his hand through the thin metal roof, pulling himself through and then rested for a moment. He could feel the disruption to the bond; he had to move again. Hit and move; tire them out; then strike with full force when they are weak. Venom moved to the only side of the warehouse that had an adjacent building he could web-sling from. He jumped from the roof and launched his web-line; but as the line snagged Venom was hit in the chest by an exploding flare. Several sections of the symbiote caught fire as Venom plummeted to the ground, letting out a screech as he went.

Venom crashed into the ground, his suit bubbling at the spots where the fire burned at the suit. There were two clicks that came from behind Venom as he rose to his feet; his suit continuing to smother the flame. As Venom turned around he saw the two SHIELD Agents that stood several feet away from him; one was a male who wore a black face mask and held a strange round object by his side; the other was Natasha Romanov, and they both held their pistols aimed steadily towards Venom. "Edward Brock, by order of the President of The United States of America himself, I place you under arrest." Natasha said as she took a step towards Venom.

"Arrogant witch! You have tried to imprison us before. We wont let you walk away this time." Venom said as he extended his arm in the air, a webline flying forward and snagging the masked SHIELD Agent. With one powerful tug the SHIELD Agent soared through the air and passed Venom. Black Widow opened fire and shot several rounds towards Venom, who jumped onto the wall of the warehouse and launched a tendril towards her. Black Widow tried to dodge the attack but the tendril wrapped around her ankle, tossing her to the ground with enough force to knock her out. Black Widow lay on the ground as the tendril began to pull her towards Venom.

There were two gunshots and Venoms tendril was cut. Venom let out a screech of pain as he turned his attention to the masked SHIELD Agent. He held his pistol arm steady with his other hand as he continued to fire towards Venom. Venom used his suit to extend a hardened shield, which the bullets bounced off of. Soon the gunfire stopped and several clicking noises filled the air; "Empty clip." Venom said as a sinister smile crept over his face. Venom jumped to the ground and stood himself up as he stared down the SHIELD Agent, and began to walk towards him; his heavy feet trembling the Earth as he came.

The SHIELD Agent did not reach for another clip as the creature moved towards him. He instead tossed his gun to the ground and held his hands out. "I surrender." The Agent said in a low voice. Venom laughed as he stopped his approach and gazed at the Agent.

"Do you know who we are? You do not defend yourself from us? Do you think we will take you with us? Because we don't take prisoners." Venom asked as several of his tendrils began to slither out of his feet and towards the SHIELD Agent.

"No, actually I just needed to stall you for a few more seconds." A confused look came over Venoms face, but then one of his tendrils moved over a strange round object that was laying on the ground not a foot away from Venom.

Venom looked down to the object in time to see several lights blink before a deafening sonic pulse echoed from the object and created a small dome around Venom, within the dome was a pulsing of sonic vibrations. Venom reached up to his head as he began to scream in pain. Venom could feel Eddie Brocks knees begin to buckle under the intense strain of the shared pain, but as his knees began to fail and he fell closer to the source of the sonic pulse, the symbiote began to peel itself off of his skin. Soon Eddie Brock fell to the floor unconscious as the symbiote began to slither away from the sonic pulse device.

As the Symbiote exited the area of effect it came face to face with the remaining flamethrower teams. A wall of fire was put around the symbiote by the two Flamethrowers as the containment team got into position with a large clear box with a computer panel on it, which they place just outside of the wall of fire. One of the men pressed several buttons as a small door on the box opened; the other man moved in with a fire extinguished and put out a small section of the fire. The symbiote almost instantly darted through the wall of fire and into the containment box; the door slammed shut behind it.

The sonic pulse grenade was shut off remotely by the masked Agent as the containment unit moved in and scooped up the box with the black symbiote clinging to every corner of it, looking for a way out. "Men, get that thing to the chopper, make sure it gets to the HeliCarrier A.S.A.P." Dugan shouted to his men as he exited to the warehouse; he saw Black Widow laying on the ground and quickly rushed to her aid. "Wake up Commander, your not hurt too bad are ya?" Black Widow eased back into consciousness as Dugan rolled her over onto her back. She lifted herself up and sat with her head in her knees.

"I...I'll be fine. That thing moves faster than it did last time." Black Widow said as she began to stand up; she reached for Dugans hand as he offered it to help her up

"Well its all over now. Looks like the new guy came through. Where'd you say you picked him up again?" Black Widow did not answer Dugan; instead she reached for her comm. device and contacted Nick Fury.

"Black Widow to HeliCarrier." Nick Fury responded immediately.

"Fury here, whats your status?" Natasha took a deep breath.

"Mission is successful. The device and containment unit were successful in their deployment. Agent 14 completed his assignment to the point. We sustained minimal casualties sir."

"Good, we have MediVacs en-route to help with the survivors. ETA two minutes." A feeling of relief went through Dugan as he listened through his headset, returning to the warehouse where the chaos had ensued.

"Thank you General. I will bring Agent 14 back with the symbiote."

"Affirmative. Fury out." Widow placed her comm. device back in her pouch before turning to see Agent 14 standing above Eddie Brock.

"What are his vitals like?" Black Widow asked as she approached.

"How should I know; he looks like he's breathing." Agent 14 said blatantly as Black Widow approached to see that Agent 14 was examining his device; Black Widow motioned for several of the men to get Brock ready for transport..

"It worked perfectly." Black Widow said with praise.

"Of course it did. What did you think would happen?" Agent 14 said with disdain as he turned and began to make his way to the approaching helicopter; the containment unit with the symbiote already at the landing site with an armed squad and both remaining Flamethrower units.

"Half of the designs you gave us didn't work in the field like they did during your tests of them. We know your leaving something out of those schematics." A disgruntled laugh came from Agent 14.

"That's not something I'll discuss with you...Ms. Romanov" Agent 14 said as the pair approached the chopper as it landed and hoped on board.

"That's Commander Romanov...Agent."

...

Fury watched the Symbiote as it smashed into each side of its cylindrical encasement; Fury couldn't quite believe that something so powerful could come from something so...disgusting. Fury examined the special containment facility for the symbiote; it was an identical replica of the one that Reed Richards had used to contain the symbiote after helping Spiderman get rid of it...though SHIELD had done some of it's own upgrades. The door to the chamber opened as Black Widow entered the room.

"General Fury, I have a full field report on the mission." Fury turned to Natasha and nodded, signaling her to continue. "Agent 11 was killed by Venom shortly after the breach; Dugan was able to recover the body." Fury lowered his head and took a moment of silence.

"I want his family to get twice his pension; and do some paper work; make sure he had damn good life insurance."

"And if he didn't" Natasha said as Fury turned to her with a smile.

"Then get him some. Same for every man and woman who died out there today." Natasha smiled back to Fury.

"Venom attempted a hit and run on us; which we anticipated. Agent 14 and myself moved in to strike when he tried to escape." Fury cast Natasha a concerned look.

"How did Agent 14 perform?" Natasha leaned back on the wall.

"He's obviously seen more battle than he's told us about. And these devices of his don't seem to malfunction when he's using them." Fury squinted his eyes as he continued to watched the symbiote in its case.

"That's convenient...Anything else?" Natasha removed herself from the wall and began to walk to the exit.

"His attitude. If I could treat him like any other Agent I would put respect into him the proper way." Fury laughed as the door closed behind Black Widow; as he laughed the symbiote seemed to cringe away from him and clung to the other side of his chamber. Fury began to laugh some more.

"_Well, well; it seems today is a day for learning new things." _Fury thought to himself as he turned and left the room, sealing the symbiote in the room as the door shut tight behind him.

...

Fury walked into the special secured dormitory he had set up for Agent 14. It was a single room with a television in it a bed which was attached to a wall. There was a separate bathroom compartment that had recently been added. There was a comfy leather chair that sat in the middle of the room, pointed at the Television which had a new report on about Spiderman and The New Avengers. "Enjoying the new luxuries?" Fury said with a hint of irritation in his voice. The television turned off and the leather chair swung around to reveal the bald head and piercing green eye's of Lex Luthor.

"Oh yes. I especially like not having to stew in the same room as my own feces." Lex said in a tone of disgust as he rose from his seat and began to pace around in his small room; a gate of electrified bars the only thing between Lex and Nick.

"Yeah; it's the little things that really matter in life." Fury said with a smile as he crossed his arms and watched Lex pace slowly around the room.

"So, have you come to mock me? Or do you think I deserve more of your...'luxuries' lavished upon me." Lex said with an arrogant tone which held back the anger in his voice.

"Your device worked flawlessly...just like all the other ones that 'you've' used. All the one's we've built with your designs have been faulty. Anything to say on that Mr. Luthor?" A smile crept over Lexes face as he turned his back to Nick Fury.

"Yes. Funny how that happens. Now you have something I want; and I have something you want." Fury became stone faced as he stared at the back of Lexes head.

"When Superman came to see you...before he left you here. How did you loop The Vaults camera feeds?" Lex began to laugh lightly.

"Oh General. Give me an outlet and an electrical appliance and I can do just about anything." Lex said with a grin as he turned to face General Fury; who glared at Lex for a moment before turning to the guard who stood watch several meters away.

"I want that television out of there. No electrical appliances of any kind go in there with him. Understood." Fury called out to the guard.

"Sir, yes Sir!" The guard said as he went to notify a team to ready for a brief prisoner transport. Fury turned back to Lex and smiled.

"Thanks for the tip." Fury said as he turned and began to leave the chamber. "And don't forget. Your an Agent of SHIELD now; you will treat your superiors with respect." Fury said as Lex began to laugh.

"Or else what? What else can you possibly take from me?" Fury grinned, but did not turn back to face Lex.

"How would you like to have you feces 'stewing' in the same room as you again? I can think up far worse things if you want to test me any further." With that Fury exited the room.

Lex turned to his leather chair and reached for the remote for the television. He turned on the News again to see the report on The New Avengers was just finishing; the picture on the screen showed Spiderman, Luke Cage, IronFist and Ms. Marvel waving to a crowd which cheered for them. As the camera panned over the crowd Lex saw a little boy hoisted up on his father back, wearing a blue t-shirt with the symbol of The House of El plastered on it. The television screen was shattered as the remote flew from Lexes hand and into the screen. Lex began to breathe deeply as he clenched his fist.

_"I can't believe I have to play this game! Me! Lex Luthor! Brought down to the level of a common criminal. No government connection; no trillion dollar enterprises with limitless funding; not even friends in low circles with the firepower needed to get the job done. Here I have nothing...so I must be what they want me to be. For now...I must be Lex Luthor: Agent of SHIELD."_

(Dun-dun-dun! Looking to the future, this is just a tidbit of what lies ahead. If you want to see the titles for the tie-in stories I'll be working on for this then check out my profile. Some of the titles give away more than others, but oh well :p. Hope you enjoyed Lexes first mission as Agent 14 of SHIELD; but with Agent 11 dead they may need a new recruit! Expect to see Lex team up with some of Marvels most patriotic superheroes as he serves America for the greater...okay it'll probably be for his own twisted purposes, I mean you can take the girl out of Jersey, but etc...

_Be sure to keep an eye open for more of Lex Luthor working with SHIELD; in a future story entitled; you guessed it; Lex Luthor: Agent of SHIELD._


	10. Enter the Dragon

Epilogue #2- Enter the Dragon

((This is the Tale of where IronFist was during the events that took place during the events of 'The Marvelous Adventure of Superman'. Expect to learn more about this version of IronFist and Luke Cage; along with the Avengers and some foreshadowing on what is to come. I decided to post this to this story because it takes place during the events of the original clash between Superman and the Avengers. So while Superman is fighting off Hulk and the others; theses events take place; half way around the world))

A candle burns in a small dark room, the corners of the room hold the shadows that are pushed aside by the light that is emanated. A single shadow spread across a single wall. Danny Rand sat at a certain position in the room so that his shadow was pointed towards Kún-Lun; the mystical city where he had learned to be the IronFist.

His thoughts dwelled outward; drifting back to Manhattan, and the friends he had left behind. During his tour of the Middle East and Western Asia; he had found his meditations often brought his thoughts back there. The image of Luke Cage, laying in a hospital bed suddenly took shape in Dannys mind.

Danny had been able to glimpse images of the present and future before; his connection to K'un-Lun gave him certain meditative privileges. Danny soon began to contemplate on the events that had set him on his course of self-discovery. With Luke; Danny and him had taken on the titles of PowerMan, and the IronFist. They had met shortly after Danny had left K'un-Lun; and after hearing of Luke's plan to 'clean up the streets'; Danny agreed to lend his services to Luke's cause. Together they went from one gang to another; at first they would approach and try to reason with them; and when they responded badly, they were made to listen.

It wasn't long before others were drawn to their cause; soon they were working with people with Spiderman, and the X-Men on a regular basis. Even the Avengers had asked for their help on several occasions. Yet at some point it didn't seem like enough; after everything they did, there was always something just waiting for them to turn their back. After helping the Avengers fight off the Krull Invasion; where Captain Marvel had lost his life; several gangs in the old quarter had taken the opportunity to imbed themselves back in. They had to start over.

Once they had finished with the gangs, again; Danny felt the repetitive nature of mans aggressive side. He had learned what he believed his master had sent him to Manhattan to learn. He had planned to leave for good; but when he went to tell Luke and Spidey; he couldn't. So he made up a story about going on a world tour; and then he left; to help where he could in the world where his skills may work to protect the weak.

He was now atop a mountain cliff side; in a small wooden cabin on the outskirts of India; and he was still unsure of where his path would lead now lead him. He had not been allowed to come back to K'un-Lun; being told by his Master that he had not yet learned all that was required for him to continue his training in the mystical city.

Danny shook his head; bringing himself out of his meditation; which had become more of a reflective journey than an inquiry of where he should go. Or perhaps the best way to move forward was to look back. Danny focused himself again; meditating on the city that he missed; and the friends he made within it... New York. He gazed towards the candle; still burning strong with a full length of the stick to burn through.

Danny suddenly felt his mind calm; an image pounding its way into his mind. A diamond encasing an engraved S. The image hung in his mind; only to be replaced by the image of Luke Cage; dead in a head of rubble and dirt. The image shifted to reveal several other of his companions in the same manner; Spiderman; Ms. Marvel; Antman; and Cyclops of the X-Men; all dead at the feet of a shadow; cloaked in a red cape.

Terror struck Danny Rand out of his meditation. He breathed heavily; feeling the amount of sweat dripping from his face as he looked at the candle before him... it had been burning for hours now; and was no more than a stub in its holder. Danny stood up from his spot; reaching for his traveling pack; and taking out a towel and wiping his face of sweat.

"I must go back." Danny said to himself; seeing his mask peeking out of his pack; waiting for the day when Danny Rand would become IronFist once again. "I don't know what dangers lurk back in New York; but I can't leave Luke and the others to fight it off without me."

((Too find out what happens to Danny; and what his vision means; be sure to check out the next third arc in "Superman and The New Avengers"))


End file.
